Ruozhu Lin¹, Bei Cui^1,2 and Wenxia Zhao^1,*

Phyton-International Journal of Experimental Botany, Vol.88, No.3, pp. 285-293, 2019, DOI:10.32604/phyton.2019.07182

Abstract The flowers of the hemiparasitic family Loranthaceae are always subtended by a rimmed structure known as the calyculus. The origin and identity of the calyculus have been disputed for more than a century. Various hypotheses have been proposed, for example, an outgrowth of the axis, a reduced calyx, and a bracteolar (prophyllar) origin, but controversies remain. To obtain a plausible explanation of the origin of the calyculus, we investigated the flowers of Loranthus tanakae using scanning electron microscopy and light microscopy to observe the entire developmental process of the floral parts. Our results show that bracts are not present in… More >

S. J. Reyes-Zambrano^1,†, M. L. Ramírez-Merchant^1,†, C. Arias-Castro², M. A. Rodríguez-Mendiola², C. A. Lecona-Guzmán¹, V. M. Ruíz-Valdiviezo¹, D. González-Mendoza³, F. A. Gutiérrez-Miceli^1,*

Phyton-International Journal of Experimental Botany, Vol.88, No.3, pp. 277-284, 2019, DOI:10.32604/phyton.2019.06504

Abstract A. americana L. is a crop with very little genetic variability. In order to evaluate the effect of ethyl methanesulfonate (EMS) to induce variability in in vitro plantlets of A. americana, different explants (meristems, leaves and roots) were evaluated for the production of callus. MS medium supplemented with ANA (2.68 μM) and BAP (2.68 μM) was used. Callus obtained from apical meristem were treated with 15 mM EMS for two hours after which shoot formation was induced using 2,4-D (0.11 μM) and BAP (44 μM). The EMS induced variations in the morphometric and morphological parameters of the plantlets obtained, with… More >

Bo Ling^1,#, Daoxi Lei^1,#, Juhui Qiu¹, Kang Zhang¹, Hao Chen^2,*, Yeqi Wang¹, Zhiyi Ye¹, Guixue Wang^*

Molecular & Cellular Biomechanics, Vol.14, No.4, pp. 197-211, 2017, DOI:10.3970/mcb.2017.014.197

Abstract Shear stress and oxidized low-density lipoprotein (oxLDL) caused by abnormal blood is critical to angiogenesis for atherosclerosis. However, the mechanism in shear stress or ox-LDL regulated angiogenesis is still not well understood. There is the hypothesis that shear stress or oxLDL regulates angiogenesis through the vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) signaling pathway. It is discovered that both high shear stress and low concentration of oxLDL contribute to angiogenesis, which is inhibited once the VEGF or VEGFR expression is knocked down. The expression of p-FAK and p-paxillin is regulated by the VEGF/VEGFR signal axis. VEGFR2, p-FAK, p-paxillin and VEGFR1 are VEGF-responsive… More >

Yidan Chen^#,1, Kang Zhang^#,1, Juhui Qiu¹, Shicheng He¹, Junyang Huang², Lu Huang¹, Dongyu Jia³, Bo Ling¹, Da Sun⁴, Xiang Xie¹, Tieying Yin^*,1, Guixue Wang^*,1

Molecular & Cellular Biomechanics, Vol.14, No.2, pp. 83-100, 2017, DOI:10.3970/mcb.2017.014.081

Abstract Abnormal shear stress in the blood vessel is an important stimulating factor for the formation of angiogenesis and vulnerable plaques. This paper intended to explore the role of shear stress-regulated Id1 in angiogenesis. First, we applied a carotid artery ring ligation to create local stenosis in ApoE^-/- mice. Then, 3D geometry of the vessel network was reconstructed based on MRI, and our analysis of computational fluid dynamics revealed that wall shear stress of the proximal region was much higher than that of the distal region. In addition, results from histological staining of the proximal region found more vulnerable-probe plaques with… More >

Maryam Jazayeri¹, Mohammad Ali Shokrgozar¹, Nooshin Haghighipour^1,2, Reza Mahdian³, Mehdi Farrokhi¹, Shahin Bonakdar¹, FereshtehMirahmadi¹, Tannaz Nourizadeh Abbariki

Molecular & Cellular Biomechanics, Vol.12, No.3, pp. 197-213, 2015, DOI:10.3970/mcb.2015.012.197

Abstract The osseous tissue repair and regeneration have great importance in orthopedic and maxillofacial surgery. Tissue engineering makes it possible to cure different tissue abnormalities using autologous grafts. It is now obvious that mechanical loading has essential role in directing cells to differentiation. In this study, the influence of cyclic uniaxial loading and its combination with chemical factors on expression of osteogenic markers was investigated. Rat bone marrow-derived stem cells were isolated and cultured. In one group cells were maintained in chemical induction medium. In another group cells were subjected to cyclic uniaxial strain with 3% amplitude and 0.3 Hz frequency… More >

Annette Doyle^*, Steven R. Crosby^†, David R. Burton^*, Francis Lilley^*, Gary Johnston^*, Winder B. Perez^‡, Terri G. Kinzy^‡, Mark F. Murphy^*,†,§

Molecular & Cellular Biomechanics, Vol.10, No.4, pp. 275-288, 2013, DOI:10.3970/mcb.2013.010.275

Abstract Many diseases including cancer are associated with a disorganised cytoskeleton. The process of characterising how cytoskeletal disorganisation affects the mechanical properties of cells offers the potential to develop new drugs and treatment regimes that may exploit mechanical weakness in cells and tissues. This work investigated the role of actin associated proteins, namely tropomyosin 1 (tpm1p) and mitochondrial distribution and morphology protein 20 (mdm20p), on the mechanical and morphological properties of yeast cells. For the first time it was shown that deletion of both the TPM1 and MDM20 genes resulted in a decrease in Young’s modulus when compared to the wild-type… More >

Guanbin Song^∗,†,‡, Qing Luo^*, Baiyao Xu^*, Yang Ju^†

Molecular & Cellular Biomechanics, Vol.7, No.3, pp. 165-174, 2010, DOI:10.3970/mcb.2010.007.165

Abstract It has been demonstrated that mechanical stimulation plays a vital role in regulating the proliferation and differentiation of stem cells. However, little is known about the effects of mechanical stress on tendon/ligament development from mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs). Here, using a custom-made cell-stretching device, we studied the effects of mechanical stretching on the cell morphology and mRNA expression of several key genes modulating tendon/ligament genesis. We demonstrate that bone-marrow-derived rat MSCs (rMSCs), when subjected to cyclic uniaxial stretching, express obvious detectable mRNAs for tenascin C and scleraxis, a unique maker of tendon/ligament formation, and significantly increased levels of type I… More >

Jie Wu^∗,†, Quan Long^‡, Shixiong Xu^*, Anwar R. Padhani^§, Yuping Jiang^¶

Molecular & Cellular Biomechanics, Vol.5, No.4, pp. 217-228, 2008, DOI:10.3970/mcb.2008.005.217

Abstract In this paper, a 3D mathematical model of tumour angiogenesis is developed, to generate a functional tumour vasculature for blood microcirculation. The model follows that of Anderson and Chaplain (1998) ^[1] with three exceptions: (a) extending the model from 2D to 3D, one arteriole and one venule is induced as two parent vessels to form an intact circulation network for blood flow; (b) generating networks able to penetrate into the tumour interior rather than the exterior only; (c) considering branching generations with different diameters, based on which three groups of vessels, such as arterioles, venules and capillaries are classified. The… More >

Donald F. Ward Jr.^*, William A. Williams^*, Nicole E. Schapiro^*, Samuel R. Christy^*, Genevieve L. Weber^*, Megan Salt, Robert F. Klees^*, Adele Boskey^†, George E. Plopper ^∗,‡

Molecular & Cellular Biomechanics, Vol.4, No.4, pp. 177-188, 2007, DOI:10.3970/mcb.2007.004.177

Abstract Focal adhesion kinase (FAK) is a key integrator of integrin-mediated signals from the extracellular matrix to the cytoskeleton and downstream signaling molecules. FAK is activated by phosphorylation at specific tyrosine residues, which then stimulate downstream signaling including the ERK1/2 pathway, leading to a variety of cellular responses. In this study, we examined the effects of FAK point mutations at tyrosine residues (Y397, Y925, Y861, and Y576/7) on osteogenic differentiation of human mesenchymal stem cells exposed to collagen I and cyclic tensile strain. Our results demonstrate that FAK signaling emanating from Y397, Y925, and to a lesser extent Y576/7, but not… More >

Al Globus¹, Madhu Menon², Deepak Srivastava¹

CMES-Computer Modeling in Engineering & Sciences, Vol.3, No.5, pp. 557-574, 2002, DOI:10.3970/cmes.2002.003.557

Abstract A genetic algorithm procedure has been developed for fitting parameters for many-body interatomic force field functions. Given a physics or chemistry based analytic form for the force field function, parameters are typically chosen to fit a range of structural and physical properties given either by experiments and/or by higher accuracy tight-binding or ab-initio simulations. The method involves using both near equilibrium and far from equilibrium configurations in the fitting procedure, and is unlikely to be trapped in local minima in the complex many-dimensional parameter space. As a proof of concept, we demonstrate the procedure for Stillinger-Weber (S-W) potential by (a)… More >