Comprehensive Characterization of the Integrin Family Across 32 Cancer Types.

Integrin genes are widely involved in tumorigenesis. Yet, a comprehensive characterization of integrin family members and their interactome at the pan-cancer level is lacking. Here, we systematically analyzed integrin family in approximately 10,000 tumors across 32 cancer types.

Integrins regulate stemness in solid tumor: an emerging therapeutic target.

Integrins are the adhesion molecules and transmembrane receptors that consist of α and β subunits. After binding to extracellular matrix components, integrins trigger intracellular signaling and regulate a wide spectrum of cellular functions, including cell survival, proliferation, differentiation and migration. Since the pattern of integrins expression is a key determinant of cell behavior in response to microenvironmental cues, deregulation of integrins caused by various mechanisms has been causally linked to cancer development and progression in several solid tumor types.

Development of polyvinyl alcohol-based carbon nano fiber sheet for thermal interface material.

Polyvinyl alcohol (PVA)-based carbon nanofiber (CNF) sheets are fabricated as an innovative thermal interface material (TIM), which is a potential substitute for traditional TIMs. Five types of PVA-based CNF sheets were fabricated at different mass ratios of PVA:vapor-grown carbon fiber (VGCF) (1:0.100, 1:0.

SYK is a candidate kinase target for the treatment of advanced prostate cancer.

Improved targeted therapies are needed to combat metastatic prostate cancer. Here, we report the identification of the spleen kinase SYK as a mediator of metastatic dissemination in zebrafish and mouse xenograft models of human prostate cancer. Although SYK has not been implicated previously in this disease, we found that its expression is upregulated in human prostate cancers and associated with malignant progression.

β1 integrin inhibition elicits a prometastatic switch through the TGFβ-miR-200-ZEB network in E-cadherin-positive triple-negative breast cancer.

Interactions with the extracellular matrix (ECM) through integrin adhesion receptors provide cancer cells with physical and chemical cues that act together with growth factors to support survival and proliferation. Antagonists that target integrins containing the β1 subunit inhibit tumor growth and sensitize cells to irradiation or cytotoxic chemotherapy in preclinical breast cancer models and are under clinical investigation. We found that the loss of β1 integrins attenuated breast tumor growth but markedly enhanced tumor cell dissemination to the lungs.

Integrin signaling in control of tumor growth and progression.

Interactions with the extracellular matrix (ECM) provide cells with physical and chemical cues that act in concert with growth factors to support survival and proliferation. Transmembrane receptors of the integrin family mediate ECM attachment and play important roles in sensing and responding to ECM properties. Integrin signaling involves large integrin-associated intracellular protein complexes that act as anchors for the cytoskeleton and as signaling hotspots where enzymes and substrates are concentrated.

Automated microinjection of cell-polymer suspensions in 3D ECM scaffolds for high-throughput quantitative cancer invasion screens.

Cell spheroids (CS) embedded in 3D extracellular matrix (ECM) serve as in vitro mimics for multicellular structures in vivo. Such cultures, started either from spontaneous cell aggregates or single cells dispersed in a gel are time consuming, applicable to restricted cell types only, prone to high variation, and do not allow CS formation with defined spatial distribution required for high-throughput imaging. Here, we describe a method where cell-polymer suspensions are microinjected as droplets into collagen gels and CS formation occurs within hours for a broad range of cell types.