Best served small: nano battles in the war against wound biofilm infections

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (6) ◽  
pp. 567-580
Author(s):  
Joanna Shepherd
Keyword(s):  
Extracellular Matrix ◽  
Antimicrobial Resistance ◽  
Biomedical Applications ◽  
Matrix Proteins ◽  
Current Role ◽  
Global Challenge ◽  
Microbial Biofilms ◽  
Wound Biofilms ◽  
Biofilm Matrix

The global challenge of antimicrobial resistance is of increasing concern, and alternatives to currently used antibiotics or methods to improve their stewardship are sought worldwide. Microbial biofilms, complex 3D communities of bacteria and/or fungi, are difficult to treat with antibiotics for several reasons. These include their protective coats of extracellular matrix proteins which are difficult for antibiotics to penetrate. Nanoparticles (NP) are one way to rise to this challenge; whilst they exist in many forms naturally there has been a profusion in synthesis of these small (<100 nm) particles for biomedical applications. Their small size allows them to penetrate the biofilm matrix, and as well as some NP being inherently antimicrobial, they also can be modified by doping with antimicrobial payloads or coated to increase their effectiveness. This mini-review examines the current role of NP in treating wound biofilms and the rise in multifunctionality of NP.

An analysis of culmination in Dictyostelium using prestalk and stalk-specific cell autonomous markers

Development ◽  
1991 ◽  
Vol 111 (3) ◽  
pp. 779-787 ◽  
Author(s):  
K.A. Jermyn ◽  
J.G. Williams
Keyword(s):  
Gene Expression ◽  
Extracellular Matrix ◽  
Dictyostelium Discoideum ◽  
Tube Formation ◽  
Matrix Proteins ◽  
Specific Cell ◽  
Primary Role ◽  
Fusion Genes ◽  
Spore Mass

The ecmA (pDd63) and ecmB (pDd56) genes encode extracellular matrix proteins of the slime sheath and stalk tube of Dictyostelium discoideum. Using fusion genes containing the promoter of one or other gene coupled to an immunologically detectable reporter, we previously identified two classes of prestalk cells in the tip of the migrating slug; a central core of pstB cells, which express the ecmB gene, surrounded by pstA cells, which express the ecmA gene. PstB cells lie at the position where stalk tube formation is initiated at culmination and we show that they act as its founders. As culmination proceeds, pstA cells transform into pstB cells by activating the ecmB gene as they enter the stalk tube. The prespore region of the slug contains a population of cells, termed anterior-like cells (ALC), which have the characteristics of prestalk cells. We show that the ecmA and ecmB genes are expressed at a low level in ALC during slug migration and that their expression in these cells is greatly elevated during culmination. Previous observations have shown that ALC sort to surround the prespore cells during culmination (Sternfeld and David, 1982 Devl Biol. 93, 111–118) and we find just such a distribution for pstB cells. We believe that the ecmB protein plays a structural role in the stalk tube and its presence, as a cradle around the spore head, suggests that it may play a further function, perhaps in ensuring integrity of the spore mass during elevation. If this interpretation is correct, then a primary role of anterior-like cells may be to form these structures at culmination. We previously identified a third class of prestalk cells, pstO cells, which lie behind pstA cells in the slug anterior and which appeared to express neither the ecmA nor the ecmB gene. Using B-galactosidase fusion constructs, which give more sensitive detection of gene expression, we now find that these cells express the ecmA gene but at a much lower level than pstA cells. We also show that expression of the ecmA gene becomes uniformly high throughout the prestalk zone when slugs are allowed to migrate in the light. Overhead light favours culmination and it may be that increased expression of the ecmA gene in the pst ‘O’ region is a preparatory step in the process.

scholarly journals Exploring the role of extracellular matrix proteins to develop biomarkers of plaque vulnerability and outcome

2020 ◽  
Vol 287 (5) ◽  
pp. 493-513 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Holm Nielsen ◽  
L. Jonasson ◽  
K. Kalogeropoulos ◽  
M. A. Karsdal ◽  
A. L. Reese‐Petersen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Extracellular Matrix ◽  
Extracellular Matrix Proteins ◽  
Matrix Proteins ◽  
Plaque Vulnerability

scholarly journals The Role of Structural Extracellular Matrix Proteins in Urothelial Bladder Cancer (Review)

2007 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
pp. BMI.S294 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrea Brunner ◽  
Alexandar Tzankov
Keyword(s):  
Extracellular Matrix ◽  
Cancer Cells ◽  
Cell Invasion ◽  
Matrix Proteins ◽  
Urothelial Bladder Cancer ◽  
Ecm Proteins ◽  
Cancer Review ◽  
Urothelial Bladder ◽  
Carcinoma Of The Bladder

The extracellular matrix (ECM) plays a key role in the modulation of cancer cell invasion. In urothelial carcinoma of the bladder (UC) the role of ECM proteins has been widely studied. The mechanisms, which are involved in the development of invasion, progression and generalization, are complex, depending on the interaction of ECM proteins with each other as well as with cancer cells. The following review will focus on the pathogenetic role and prognostic value of structural proteins, such as laminins, collagens, fibronectin (FN), tenascin (Tn-C) and thrombospondin 1 (TSP1) in UC. In addition the role of integrins mediating the interaction of ECM molecules and cancer cells will be addressed, since integrin-mediated FN, Tn-C and TSP1 interactions seem to play an important role during tumor cell invasion and angiogenesis.

Role of high molecular weight extracellular matrix proteins in glioma cell migration

1997 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
pp. 102-112 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Mahesparan ◽  
B. B. Tysnes ◽  
K. Edvardsen ◽  
H. K. Haugeland ◽  
I. Garcia Cabrera ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Molecular Weight ◽  
Extracellular Matrix ◽  
Cell Migration ◽  
High Molecular Weight ◽  
Glioma Cell ◽  
Extracellular Matrix Proteins ◽  
Matrix Proteins ◽  
Glioma Cell Migration

Transdifferentiation of Bone Marrow Mesenchymal Stem Cells into the Islet-Like Cells: the Role of Extracellular Matrix Proteins

2015 ◽  
Vol 63 (5) ◽  
pp. 377-384 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marta Pokrywczynska ◽  
Marzena Anna Lewandowska ◽  
Sandra Krzyzanowska ◽  
Arkadiusz Jundzill ◽  
Marta Rasmus ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Stem Cells ◽  
Bone Marrow ◽  
Extracellular Matrix ◽  
Mesenchymal Stem Cells ◽  
Extracellular Matrix Proteins ◽  
Matrix Proteins ◽  
Marrow Mesenchymal Stem Cells
Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document