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What's new in June 2020

Improving skin organoids

Skin organoid.
Scientists have been recreating human skin in the lab for decades, but all of these models have lacked many of the component cells and structures of normal skin, including hair. Now, HSCI’s Karl Koehler has developed improved skin organoids, or mini organs, that better model the skin.
  • What they did: The researchers used human induced pluripotent stem cells to culture organoids in a dish.
  • What they found: The organoids accurately developed into the top and bottom layers of the skin. The interactions and signaling between the layers led to the development of hair follicles, fat cells, and nerves. When the researchers transplanted the organoids onto mice, the transplanted skin grew hair and other human skin structures.
  • Why it matters: The improved technique for culturing skin could be applied to drug testing in the lab, and therapeutic uses such as burn and wound treatments.

An engineering approach to shape neural connections

Zebrafish neurons.
Researchers led by HSCI’s Paola Arlotta have developed an engineering technique to precisely control the direction that neurons grow their axons, cable-like structures that allow nerve cells to connect with each other.
  • What they did: To control axon growth, the researchers introduced a fusion protein into neurons that combined the functionality of two different proteins. The first protein is normally expressed in developing axons, and controls the machinery responsible for axonal growth. The second protein is originally found in plants and helps them to sense light.
  • What they found: When the researchers shone light near the neurons, the axons grew toward it. The researchers applied the technique in a zebrafish model, and were able to correct defective neural connections and restore the neuron’s ability to cause muscle contractions.
  • Why it matters: These results are a key step toward repairing nervous system damage in patients. They may also enable scientists to create more accurate models of the brain in a lab dish, by instructing the formation of precise neural connections resembling those of the actual brain.

A better understanding of embryonic development and cancer

Cell signaling.
By studying embryonic development, HSCI researchers led by Olivier Pourquié have identified a mechanism that helps explain how cells choose to become different types.
  • What they did: The researchers previously discovered that changes in metabolism — or energy production — influence how cells communicate with each other, which in turn affects what cell type they become. In this study, the researchers investigated exactly how metabolism and cell signaling are connected.
  • What they found: The researchers found that metabolism and cell signaling are connected by a change in the acidity, or pH levels, of the cellular environment.
  • Why it matters: With a better understanding of how different cell types are made in the embryo, researchers can improve the process of making cells for regenerative medicine. Researchers can also apply these insights to cancer and potential therapeutic strategies because cancer cells have similar metabolic and pH characteristics.
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