ObjectiveTo review the research progress on the role and mechanism of matrix stiffness in regulating endothelial cell sprouting. MethodsThe related literature at home and abroad in recent years was extensively reviewed, and the behaviors of matrix stiffness related endothelial cell sprouting in different cell cultivation conditions were analyzed, and the specific molecular mechanism of matrix stiffness regulating related signal pathways in endothelial cell sprouting was elaborated. Results In two-dimensional cell cultivation condition, increase of matrix stiffness stimulates endothelial cell sprouting within a certain range. However, in three-dimensional cell cultivation condition, the detailed function of matrix stiffness in regulating endothelial cell sprouting and angiogenesis are still unclear. At present, the research of the related molecular mechanism mainly focuses on YAP/TAZ, and roles of its upstream and downstream signal molecules. Matrix stiffness can regulate endothelial cell sprouting by activating or inhibiting signal pathways to participate in vascularization. ConclusionMatrix stiffness plays a vital role in regulating endothelial cell sprouting, but its specific role and molecular mechanism in different environments remain ambiguous and need further study.
Extracellular matrix (ECM) has been implicated in tumor progress and chemosensitivity. Ovarian cancer brings a great threat to the health of women with a significant feature of high mortality and poor prognosis. However, the potential significance of matrix stiffness in the pattern of long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) expression and ovarian cancer drug sensitivity is still largely unkown. Here, based on RNA-seq data of ovarian cancer cell cultured on substrates with different stiffness, we found that a great amount of lncRNAs were upregulated in stiff group, whereas SNHG8 was significantly downregulated, which was further verified in ovarian cancer cells cultured on polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) hydrogel. Knockdown of SNHG8 led to an impaired efficiency of homologous repair, and decreased cellular sensitivity to both etoposide and cisplatin. Meanwhile, the results of the GEPIA analysis indicated that the expression of SNHG8 was significantly decreased in ovarian cancer tissues, which was negatively correlated with the overall survival of patients with ovarian cancer. In conclusion, matrix stiffening related lncRNA SNHG8 is closely related to chemosensitivity and prognosis of ovarian cancer, which might be a novel molecular marker for chemotherapy drug instruction and prognosis prediction.
Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a progressive scar-forming disease with a high mortality rate that has received widespread attention. Epithelial mesenchymal transition (EMT) is an important part of the pulmonary fibrosis process, and changes in the biomechanical properties of lung tissue have an important impact on it. In this paper, we summarize the changes in the biomechanical microenvironment of lung tissue in IPF-EMT in recent years, and provide a systematic review on the effects of alterations in the mechanical microenvironment in pulmonary fibrosis on the process of EMT, the effects of mechanical factors on the behavior of alveolar epithelial cells in EMT and the biomechanical signaling in EMT, in order to provide new references for the research on the prevention and treatment of IPF.