Author
Edna Cukierman
Other affiliations: National Institutes of Health, Technion – Israel Institute of Technology
Bio: Edna Cukierman is an academic researcher from Fox Chase Cancer Center. The author has contributed to research in topics: Extracellular matrix & Stromal cell. The author has an hindex of 42, co-authored 97 publications receiving 12363 citations. Previous affiliations of Edna Cukierman include National Institutes of Health & Technion – Israel Institute of Technology.
Papers published on a yearly basis
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TL;DR: These distinctive in vivo 3D-matrix adhesions differ in structure, localization, and function from classically described in vitro adhesion, and as such they may be more biologically relevant to living organisms.
Abstract: Adhesions between fibroblastic cells and extracellular matrix have been studied extensively in vitro, but little is known about their in vivo counterparts. Here, we characterized the composition and function of adhesions in three-dimensional (3D) matrices derived from tissues or cell culture. "3D-matrix adhesions" differ from focal and fibrillar adhesions characterized on 2D substrates in their content of alpha5beta1 and alphavbeta3 integrins, paxillin, other cytoskeletal components, and tyrosine phosphorylation of focal adhesion kinase (FAK). Relative to 2D substrates, 3D-matrix interactions also display enhanced cell biological activities and narrowed integrin usage. These distinctive in vivo 3D-matrix adhesions differ in structure, localization, and function from classically described in vitro adhesions, and as such they may be more biologically relevant to living organisms.
3,000 citations
TL;DR: Three-dimensional (3D) in vitro models provide unique perspectives on the behavior of stem cells, developing tissues and organs, and tumors and may help to accelerate translational research in cancer biology and tissue engineering.
1,621 citations
Francis Crick Institute1, Fox Chase Cancer Center2, Washington University in St. Louis3, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory4, Salk Institute for Biological Studies5, Howard Hughes Medical Institute6, Cornell University7, Goethe University Frankfurt8, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center9, Massachusetts Institute of Technology10, Harvard University11, University of Manchester12, New York University13, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston14, University of Pennsylvania15, Stony Brook University16, Hofstra University17, Weizmann Institute of Science18, Oregon Health & Science University19, University of California, San Francisco20, King's College London21, Johns Hopkins University22
TL;DR: This Consensus Statement issues a call to action for all cancer researchers to standardize assays and report metadata in studies of cancer-associated fibroblasts to advance the understanding of this important cell type in the tumour microenvironment.
Abstract: Cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) are a key component of the tumour microenvironment with diverse functions, including matrix deposition and remodelling, extensive reciprocal signalling interactions with cancer cells and crosstalk with infiltrating leukocytes. As such, they are a potential target for optimizing therapeutic strategies against cancer. However, many challenges are present in ongoing attempts to modulate CAFs for therapeutic benefit. These include limitations in our understanding of the origin of CAFs and heterogeneity in CAF function, with it being desirable to retain some antitumorigenic functions. On the basis of a meeting of experts in the field of CAF biology, we summarize in this Consensus Statement our current knowledge and present a framework for advancing our understanding of this critical cell type within the tumour microenvironment.
1,616 citations
TL;DR: Recent advances in studies of interactions of fibroblasts with collagen gels and fibronectin-containing matrices that mimic in vivo three-dimensional microenvironments are examined, illuminating mechanisms of cell-matrix interactions in living organisms.
928 citations
TL;DR: It is shown that caveolin-1 (Cav1) favors cell elongation in three-dimensional cultures and promotes Rho- and force-dependent contraction, matrix alignment, and microenvironment stiffening through regulation of p190RhoGAP.
628 citations
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TL;DR: Naive mesenchymal stem cells are shown here to specify lineage and commit to phenotypes with extreme sensitivity to tissue-level elasticity, consistent with the elasticity-insensitive commitment of differentiated cell types.
12,204 citations
TL;DR: An understanding of how tissue cells—including fibroblasts, myocytes, neurons, and other cell types—sense matrix stiffness is just emerging with quantitative studies of cells adhering to gels with which elasticity can be tuned to approximate that of tissues.
Abstract: Normal tissue cells are generally not viable when suspended in a fluid and are therefore said to be anchorage dependent. Such cells must adhere to a solid, but a solid can be as rigid as glass or softer than a baby's skin. The behavior of some cells on soft materials is characteristic of important phenotypes; for example, cell growth on soft agar gels is used to identify cancer cells. However, an understanding of how tissue cells-including fibroblasts, myocytes, neurons, and other cell types-sense matrix stiffness is just emerging with quantitative studies of cells adhering to gels (or to other cells) with which elasticity can be tuned to approximate that of tissues. Key roles in molecular pathways are played by adhesion complexes and the actinmyosin cytoskeleton, whose contractile forces are transmitted through transcellular structures. The feedback of local matrix stiffness on cell state likely has important implications for development, differentiation, disease, and regeneration.
5,889 citations
Stanford University1, Yale University2, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine3, Washington University in St. Louis4, McGill University5, Merck & Co.6, Université catholique de Louvain7, Université libre de Bruxelles8, University of California, Berkeley9, University of Salamanca10, University of Basel11, University of Padua12, Goethe University Frankfurt13, National Institutes of Health14, Aberystwyth University15, Concordia University16, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven17
TL;DR: It is shown that previously known and new genes are necessary for optimal growth under six well-studied conditions: high salt, sorbitol, galactose, pH 8, minimal medium and nystatin treatment, and less than 7% of genes that exhibit a significant increase in messenger RNA expression are also required for optimal Growth in four of the tested conditions.
Abstract: Determining the effect of gene deletion is a fundamental approach to understanding gene function. Conventional genetic screens exhibit biases, and genes contributing to a phenotype are often missed. We systematically constructed a nearly complete collection of gene-deletion mutants (96% of annotated open reading frames, or ORFs) of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. DNA sequences dubbed 'molecular bar codes' uniquely identify each strain, enabling their growth to be analysed in parallel and the fitness contribution of each gene to be quantitatively assessed by hybridization to high-density oligonucleotide arrays. We show that previously known and new genes are necessary for optimal growth under six well-studied conditions: high salt, sorbitol, galactose, pH 8, minimal medium and nystatin treatment. Less than 7% of genes that exhibit a significant increase in messenger RNA expression are also required for optimal growth in four of the tested conditions. Our results validate the yeast gene-deletion collection as a valuable resource for functional genomics.
4,328 citations
TL;DR: Although modern synthetic biomaterials represent oversimplified mimics of natural ECMs lacking the essential natural temporal and spatial complexity, a growing symbiosis of materials engineering and cell biology may ultimately result in synthetic materials that contain the necessary signals to recapitulate developmental processes in tissue- and organ-specific differentiation and morphogenesis.
Abstract: New generations of synthetic biomaterials are being developed at a rapid pace for use as three-dimensional extracellular microenvironments to mimic the regulatory characteristics of natural extracellular matrices (ECMs) and ECM-bound growth factors, both for therapeutic applications and basic biological studies. Recent advances include nanofibrillar networks formed by self-assembly of small building blocks, artificial ECM networks from protein polymers or peptide-conjugated synthetic polymers that present bioactive ligands and respond to cell-secreted signals to enable proteolytic remodeling. These materials have already found application in differentiating stem cells into neurons, repairing bone and inducing angiogenesis. Although modern synthetic biomaterials represent oversimplified mimics of natural ECMs lacking the essential natural temporal and spatial complexity, a growing symbiosis of materials engineering and cell biology may ultimately result in synthetic materials that contain the necessary signals to recapitulate developmental processes in tissue- and organ-specific differentiation and morphogenesis.
4,288 citations
TL;DR: It is clear that the understanding of the myofibroblast — its origins, functions and molecular regulation — will have a profound influence on the future effectiveness not only of tissue engineering but also of regenerative medicine generally.
Abstract: During the past 20 years, it has become generally accepted that the modulation of fibroblastic cells towards the myofibroblastic phenotype, with acquisition of specialized contractile features, is essential for connective-tissue remodelling during normal and pathological wound healing. Yet the myofibroblast still remains one of the most enigmatic of cells, not least owing to its transient appearance in association with connective-tissue injury and to the difficulties in establishing its role in the production of tissue contracture. It is clear that our understanding of the myofibroblast its origins, functions and molecular regulation will have a profound influence on the future effectiveness not only of tissue engineering but also of regenerative medicine generally.
3,836 citations