ECM Proteins Nidogen-1 and Decorin Restore Functionality of Human Islets of Langerhans upon Hypoxic Conditions.

Transplantation of donor islets of Langerhans is a potential therapeutic approach for patients with diabetes mellitus; however, its success is limited by islet death and dysfunction during the initial hypoxic conditions at the transplantation site. This highlights the need to support the donor islets in the days post-transplantation until the site is vascularized. It was previously demonstrated that the extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins nidogen-1 (NID1) and decorin (DCN) improve the functionality and survival of the β-cell line, EndoC-βH3, and the viability of human islets post-isolation.

Heterogeneity of Endothelial Cells Impacts the Functionality of Human Pancreatic Models.

Endothelial cells (ECs) play a crucial role in maintaining tissue homeostasis and functionality. Depending on their tissue of origin, ECs can be highly heterogeneous regarding their morphology, gene and protein expression, functionality, and signaling pathways. Understanding the interaction between organ-specific ECs and their surrounding tissue is therefore critical when investigating tissue homeostasis, disease development, and progression.

Selective and Controlled Grafting from PVDF-Based Materials by Oxygen-Tolerant Green-Light-Mediated ATRP.

Poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) shows excellent chemical and thermal resistance and displays high dielectric strength and unique piezoelectricity, which are enabling for applications in membranes, electric insulators, sensors, or power generators. However, its low polarity and lack of functional groups limit wider applications. While inert, PVDF has been modified by grafting polymer chains by atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP), albeit via an unclear mechanism, given the strong C-F bonds.

CAT on MOUSE: Control and automation of temperature for single-sided NMR instruments such as NMR-MOUSE.

Temperature-dependent experiments are a rapidly growing area of interest for low-field NMR. In this work, we present a new device for wide-range temperature control for single-sided NMR instruments. The presented device, called CAT, is simple to build, inexpensive, and easy to modify to accommodate different samples.