Direct detection and measurement of wall shear stress using a filamentous bio-nanoparticle

Scleraxis-lineage cells are required for tendon homeostasis and their depletion induces an accelerated extracellular matrix aging phenotype

Aged tendons have disrupted homeostasis, increased injury risk, and impaired healing capacity. Understanding mechanisms of homeostatic disruption is crucial for developing therapeutics to retain tendon health through the lifespan. Here, we developed a novel model of accelerated tendon extracellular matrix (ECM) aging via depletion of Scleraxis-lineage cells in young mice (Scx-DTR). Scx-DTR recapitulates many aspects of tendon aging including comparable declines in cellularity, alterations in ECM structure, organization, and composition. Single-cell RNA sequencing demonstrated a conserved decline in tenocytes associated with ECM biosynthesis in aged and Scx-DTR tendons, identifying the requirement for Scleraxis-lineage cells during homeostasis. However, the remaining cells in aged and Scx-DTR tendons demonstrate functional divergence. Aged tenocytes become pro-inflammatory and lose proteostasis. In contrast, tenocytes from Scx-DTR tendons demonstrate enhanced remodeling capacity. Collectively, this study defines Scx-DTR as a novel model of accelerated tendon ECM aging and identifies novel biological intervention points to maintain tendon function through the lifespan.

Microfluidics in vascular biology research: a critical review for engineers, biologists, and clinicians

Neovascularization, the formation of new blood vessels, has received much research attention due to its implications for physiological processes and diseases. Most studies using traditional in vitro and in vivo platforms find challenges in recapitulating key cellular and mechanical cues of the neovascularization processes. Microfluidic in vitro models have been presented as an alternative to these limitations due to their capacity to leverage microscale physics to control cell organization and integrate biochemical and mechanical cues, such as shear stress, cell-cell interactions, or nutrient gradients, making them an ideal option for recapitulating organ physiology. Much has been written about the use of microfluidics in vascular biology models from an engineering perspective. However, a review introducing the different models, components and progress for new potential adopters of these technologies was absent in the literature. Therefore, this paper aims to approach the use of microfluidic technologies in vascular biology from a perspective of biological hallmarks to be studied and written for a wide audience ranging from clinicians to engineers. Here we review applications of microfluidics in vascular biology research, starting with design considerations and fabrication techniques. After that, we review the state of the art in recapitulating angiogenesis and vasculogenesis, according to the hallmarks recapitulated and complexity of the models. Finally, we discuss emerging research areas in neovascularization, such as drug discovery, and potential future directions.

Model-based image analysis of a tethered Brownian fibre for shear stress sensing

The measurement of fluid dynamic shear stress acting on a biologically relevant surface is a challenging problem, particularly in the complex environment of, for example, the vasculature. While an experimental method for the direct detection of wall shear stress via the imaging of a synthetic biology nanorod has recently been developed, the data interpretation so far has been limited to phenomenological random walk modelling, small-angle approximation, and image analysis techniques which do not take into account the production of an image from a three-dimensional subject. In this report, we develop a mathematical and statistical framework to estimate shear stress from rapid imaging sequences based firstly on stochastic modelling of the dynamics of a tethered Brownian fibre in shear flow, and secondly on a novel model-based image analysis, which reconstructs fibre positions by solving the inverse problem of image formation. This framework is tested on experimental data, providing the first mechanistically rational analysis of the novel assay. What follows further develops the established theory for an untethered particle in a semi-dilute suspension, which is of relevance to, for example, the study of Brownian nanowires without flow, and presents new ideas in the field of multi-disciplinary image analysis.

Real-time femtomolar detection of cancer biomarkers from photoconjugated antibody-phage constructs

Here we describe novel covalent conjugates of antibody-phage for the detection of multiple cancer biomarkers using real time immuno-polymerase chain reaction (immuno-PCR). While the conventional process of immuno-PCR utilizes DNA-conjugated antibodies, chemical modification of antibodies not only reduces antibody affinity but also creates a heterogeneous population of products. However, phage naturally encapsulate genomic DNA, which can be used as a PCR template. To produce covalently conjugated antibody-phage constructs without recombinant antibody expression or chemical modification of antibodies, we incorporated a photocrosslinkable non-canonical amino acid within an antibody-binding domain displayed on one of the phage coat proteins. To correlate antigen presence to a specific DNA sequence, the phage genomes were modified with domains that recognized specific sets of primers. The crosslinked antibody-phage conjugates were then tested in a sandwich-type immunoassay using real-time PCR where low pg ml^-1 concentrations of antigen could be detected and identified from a single solution containing a mixture of three different types of cancer biomarkers.