Publications by authors named "Mariana Oliva"

Article Synopsis
  • * The study investigates how integrins and cadherins compete for connections to the actin cytoskeleton, which affects MSC mechanosensing and their fate, particularly in relation to the viscosity of the environment.
  • * Using functionalized lipid bilayers to create different viscosities, the research shows that when cadherins bind, integrins' adhesion to the environment weakens, influencing the MSC's decision on how to develop and differentiate.
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Mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) are multipotent progenitor cells that are of considerable clinical potential in transplantation and anti-inflammatory therapies due to their capacity for tissue repair and immunomodulation. However, MSCs rapidly differentiate once in culture, making their large-scale expansion for use in immunomodulatory therapies challenging. Although the differentiation mechanisms of MSCs have been extensively investigated using materials, little is known about how materials can influence paracrine activities of MSCs.

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Article Synopsis
  • Cells are anchored to the extracellular matrix via the focal adhesion complex, which also functions as a sensor for force transduction, but how tension affects these structures remains unclear.
  • This study investigates how tension affects the positioning of important focal adhesion proteins such as vinculin, paxillin, and actin using micropatterning techniques on gold surfaces to control cell shape and perform detailed measurements.
  • Results indicate that manipulating ion channels significantly impacts actin and the architecture of focal adhesions, revealing a complex relationship between adhesion tension and cellular tension that influences the amounts of these proteins.
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Mesenchymal stem cells represent an important resource, for bone regenerative medicine and therapeutic applications. This review focuses on new advancements and biophysical tools which exploit different physical and chemical markers of mesenchymal stem cell populations, to finely characterize phenotype changes along their osteogenic differentiation process. Special attention is paid to recently developed label-free methods, which allow monitoring cell populations with minimal invasiveness.

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Study Objective: To compare the detection rate of adenomyosis when ultrasound is performed by a radiologist compared with a gynecologic expert sonologist.

Design: A retrospective, single-center study.

Setting: A university teaching hospital.

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