The mechanics of the cellular microenvironment can be as critical as biochemistry in directing cell behavior. Many commonly utilized materials derived from extra-cellular-matrix create excellent scaffolds for cell growth, however, evaluating the relative mechanical and biochemical effects independently in 3D environments has been difficult in frequently used biopolymer matrices. Here we present...

Background: Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is characterized by the proliferation of myeloid precursors and abnormal differentiation of hematopoietic stem cells, which results in the accumulation of immature cells in the bone marrow (BM). The accumulation of these cells in the bone marrow causes molecular and cellular changes in the microenvironment of the bone marrow. The adiponectin hormone orig...

Hydrogels represent a class of materials suitable for numerous biomedical applications such as tissue engineering and drug delivery. Hydrogels are by definition capable of absorbing large amount of fluid, making them adequate for cell seeding and encapsulation as well as for implantation because of their biocompatibility and excellent diffusion properties. They also possess other desirable prop...

The reciprocal interplay of cancer cells and host cells is an indispensable prerequisite for tumor growth and progression. Cells of both the innate and adaptive immune system, in particular tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) and T cells, as well as cancer-associated fibroblasts enter into a malicious liaison with tumor cells to create a tumor-promoting and immunosuppressive tumor microenvironm...

Plasmodium falciparum malaria remains one of the most serious health problems globally. Immunization with attenuated parasites elicits multiple cellular effector mechanisms capable of eliminating Plasmodium liver stages. However, malaria liver stage (LS) immunity is complex and the mechanisms effector T cells use to locate the few infected hepatocytes in the large liver in order to kill the int...

Melanoma is an aggressive disease for which there is no effective curative treatment beyond surgical excision of the primary lesion and regional disease. Epidemiological, clinical, in vitro and in vivo studies have provided insight into the biology of the disease. This review focuses on current understanding of key molecular pathways, cellular interaction and tumor microenvironment, and the res...

14.2 Mimicking the ECM 317 14.2.1 Covalent immobilization of ECM-derived proteins and growth factors through reaction of amino acid side chains 319 14.2.2 Immobilization of growth factors through interactions with other biomolecules 322 14.2.3 Protein/peptide tags for immobilization 326 14.2.3.1 Collagen-binding domain-mediated immobilization 326 14.2.3.2 Factor XIIIA transglutaminase catalyzed...

Tumor-derived exosomes (TEXs) are a class of extracellular vesicles which play an important role in the tumor microenvironment. These have multiple biological functions including promotion cancer progression and reduction anti-tumor immunity. Recently, interaction between TEXs immune cells great interest cell-based immunotherapy. Here, we review effects on survival T cell subsets, as well their...

Despite the fact that porcine embryonic stem cells (ESCs) are a practical study tool, in vitro long-term maintenance of these cells is difficult in a two-dimensional (2D) microenvironment using cellular niche or extracellular matrix proteins. However, a three-dimensional (3D) microenvironment, similar to that enclosing the inner cell mass of the blastocyst, may improve in vitro maintenance of s...

Cell organization, proliferation, and differentiation are impacted by diverse cues present in the cellular microenvironment. As a result, the surface of a material plays an important role in cellular function. Synthetic surfaces may be augmented by physical as well as chemical means. In particular, patterning and interfacial gradients may be utilized to mitigate the cellular response. Patternin...