Publications related to Z-REX uncovers a bifurcation in function of Keap1 paralogs

Accessible and highly observable gastrointestinal organoid model systems for studying host-pathogen interactions

Traditional cell cultures have long been fundamental to biological research, offering an alternative to animal models burdened by ethical constraints and procedural intricacies, often lacking relevance to human physiology and disease. Moreover, their inabi ...

EPFL2024

Deciphering the nature of cell state transitions in single cells using quantitative modeling of temporal dynamics

Alex Russell Lederer

Cells are the smallest operational units of living systems. Through synthesis of various biomolecules and exchange of signals with the environment, cells tightly regulate their composition to realize a specific functional state. The transformation of a cel ...

EPFL2024

Ru(II)-Arene Complexes of Curcumin and Bisdesmethoxycurcumin Metabolites

Paul Joseph Dyson, Farzaneh Fadaei Tirani, Mouna Hadiji

Curcuminoids and their complexes continue to attract attention in medicinal chemistry, but little attention has been given to their metabolic derivatives. Here, the first examples of (arene)Ru(II) complexes with curcuminoid metabolites, tetrahydrocurcumin ...

Amer Chemical Soc2024

Characterization of the gut-bone marrow axis through bile acid signaling

Alejandro Alonso Calleja

Communication between the intestine and other organs such as the lungs, brain or bones is mediated by several metabolites, like short-chain fatty acids or bile acids, that relay information about nutritional and microbiota status. Bile acids are endogenous ...

EPFL2024

Metabolically enhanced CAR T cells efficiently clear solid tumors in mice

Li Tang

Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells in the solid tumor microenvironment enter a partially dysfunctional state called T cell exhaustion. Interleukin (IL)-10-producing CAR T cells retain their metabolic fitness, resist T cell exhaustion and display unpre ...

Nature Portfolio2024

Clinically compliant cryopreservation of differentiated retinal pigment epithelial cells

Cheng Zhao, Gioele La Manno, Alex Russell Lederer

Background aims: Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is the most common cause of blindness in elderly patients within developed countries, affecting more than 190 million worldwide. In AMD, the retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cell layer progressively d ...

Elsevier Sci Ltd2024

High-throughput parallel testing of ten photoelectrochemical cells for water splitting: case study on the effects of temperature in hematite photoanodes

Sophia Haussener, Isaac Thomas Holmes-Gentle, Roberto Valenza, Franky Esteban Bedoya Lora

High-throughput testing of photoelectrochemical cells and materials under well-defined operating conditions can accelerate the discovery of new semiconducting materials, the characterization of the phenomena occurring at the semiconductor-electrolyte inter ...

Royal Soc Chemistry2024

Bioengineering functional organoid models across scales

Tania Hübscher

The last two decades have seen the development of organoid models for many different tissues and organs. Organoids are three-dimensional organ-mimetics derived from stem or progenitor cells comprising various specialized cell types, resembling the architec ...

EPFL2024

Exploration and modulation of mechanical cues for enhanced cancer immunotherapy

Armand Kurum

The advent of immunotherapy, such as immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) and adoptive transfer of cytotoxic lymphocytes, has transformed the clinical care of cancer. However, a significant proportion of patients are resistant to immunotherapy or experience re ...

EPFL2024

Fluorescent fatty acid conjugates for live cell imaging of peroxisomes

Luc Reymond, Manon Sandra Bardyn, Fabien Kuttler, Daria Korotkova, Triana Amen, Milena Maria Schuhmacher

Peroxisomes are eukaryotic organelles that are essential for multiple metabolic pathways, including fatty acid oxidation, degradation of amino acids, and biosynthesis of ether lipids. Consequently, peroxisome dysfunction leads to pediatric-onset neurodegen ...

Nature Research2024

Multimodal transcriptomic atlases of mouse spinal cord injury

Matthieu Pierre Gautier

A spinal cord injury (SCI) triggers a cascade of molecular and cellular responses involving inflammatory cell infiltration and cytokine release, apoptosis, demyelination, excitotoxicity, ischemia, and the formation of a fibrotic scar surrounded by an astro ...

EPFL2024

Low temperature and mTOR inhibition favor stem cell maintenance in human keratinocyte cultures

Fahd Azzabi Zouraq, Kai Johnsson, Yann Barrandon, Ariane Rochat, Thomas Michael Braschler, Johannes Alexander Mosig, Jean-Baptiste Bureau, Mako Kamiya

Adult autologous human epidermal stem cells can be extensively expanded ex vivo for cell and gene therapy. Identifying the mechanisms involved in stem cell maintenance and defining culture conditions to maintain stemness is critical, because an inadequate ...

WILEY2023

Countering T cell exhaustion and senescence for enhanced adoptive T cell therapies against solid tumors

Yang Zhao

CAR-T cell therapy has shown remarkable success in treating hematopoietic malignancies, but its efficacy in solid tumors is limited by T cell dysfunction, including exhaustion and senescence. In this study, we designed metabolically armored CAR-T cells to ...

EPFL2023

A single-cell-based characterization of mammalian adipose stem and progenitor cell heterogeneity and function

Pernille Yde Rainer

White adipose tissue (WAT) is a cellularly heterogeneous endocrine organ that not only serves as a reservoir for storing and releasing energy but also actively participates in metabolic homeostasis. Given the current rise in obesity and its associated como ...

EPFL2023

Human PBMCs Form Lipid Droplets in Response to Spike Proteins

Florian Maria Wurm, Guillaume Raussin

Intracellular lipid droplets (LDs) can accumulate in response to inflammation, metabolic stresses, and other physiological/pathological processes. Herein, we investigated whether spike proteins of SARS-CoV-2 induce LDs in human peripheral blood mononuclear ...

MDPI2023

Direct In Vivo Activation of T Cells with Nanosized Immunofilaments Inhibits Tumor Growth and Metastasis

Bart Deplancke, Jorieke Weiden, Guido Van Mierlo

Adoptive T cell therapyhas successfully been implementedfor thetreatment of cancer. Nevertheless, ex vivo expansion of T cells byartificial antigen-presenting cells (aAPCs) remains cumbersome andcan compromise T cell functionality, thereby limiting their t ...

AMER CHEMICAL SOC2023

Bioengineering human mini-intestines with in vivo-like complexity and function

Olga Mitrofanova

Biological research heavily relies on the use of animal models, which has made it difficult to answer specific questions about human biology and disease. However, with the advent of human organoids - miniature versions of tissues generated in 3D human stem ...

EPFL2023

Programming of Multicellular Patterning with Mechano-Chemically Microstructured Cell Niches

Pierre Osteil

Multicellular patterning of stem-cell-derived tissue models is commonly achieved via self-organizing activities triggered by exogenous morphogenetic stimuli. However, such tissue models are prone to stochastic behavior, limiting the reproducibility of cell ...

WILEY2023

Deciphering the molecular events leading to the global restoration of the chromatin landscape during mitotic exit

Silja Michelle Placzek

Two fundamental properties of embryonic stem cells (ESCs) are their ability to self-renew and differentiate into all somatic cell types. Maintenance of their identity faces major challenges when transitioning through mitosis, as most DNA-binding proteins a ...

EPFL2023

Unlocking Hidden Potential: Exploring the Complexities of Signaling in Immune Cell Activation to Optimize CAR Therapy

Mathieu Girardin

Chimeric antigen receptors (CARs) are synthetic, transmembrane proteins that trigger immune cell signaling following their engagement. They have been first utilized in T cells and later in natural killer (NK) cells to redirect their cytotoxicity toward a s ...

EPFL2023