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BE Seminar: Mesoscale Epithelial Mechanobiology and Cellular Interfaces
December 16 @ 4:00 pm - 5:00 pm
Speaker: Dr. Jacopo Di Russo
Group Leader
Institute of Molecular and Cellular Anatomy, RWTH Aachen University
& Leibniz-Institute for Interactive Materials, Aachen Germany.
Title: Mesoscale Epithelial Mechanobiology and Cellular Interfaces
Abstract: Mechanical properties regulate tissue functions at a multicellular length scale or mesoscale. These properties depend on the interaction of cells with their interfaces, hence on the balance between intercellular tension and the extracellular matrix (ECM) adhesion forces.
Dr. Jacopo Di Russo’s group aims to dissect the role of cell-ECM and cell-cell communication in epithelial mechanobiology, starting from the medically relevant retinal epithelium. In contrast to the experimental investigation of traditional biological sciences, his laboratory uses cross-disciplinary approaches combining synthetic hydrogels with stem cell-based models. They particularly develop and adapt biohybrid systems where cells interact with hydrogels that are designed to control cell-cell or cell-ECM adhesion. Synthetic material allows the unique reduction of the degree of freedom in the cellular/tissue system, thus helping us to reveal phenotypical tissue plasticity and molecular function.
The talk will first give an overview of published work1,2 on understanding how ECM physical (elasticity) and biochemical cues (receptor density) impact epithelial system properties, namely stress heterogeneity and intercellular force coordination. The talk will also show that these properties are not only in vitro observations but play pivotal roles in controlling the vision. A density gradient of ECM characterises the contractility of the retinal epithelium in vivo and modulates its efficiency in supporting photoreceptor cells’ homeostasis. Furthermore, Dr. Jacopo will show data from the ongoing work which addresses different aspects of the mechanobiology of tissue ageing. They optimised a phototunable hydrogel as substrates for epithelia to model ECM local remodelling on demand. Moreover, we developed microgels used as phototunable phantom cells to simulate age-related tissue mechanical anisotropy. Altogether, They can dissect the relationship between tissue mechanics and function by controlling the temporal and spatial properties of cellular interfaces.
About the Speaker: Dr. Jacopo Di Russo studied cell biology in Florence (Italy) for then joining the laboratory of Prof. Lydia Sorokin in Muenster (Germany) as Marie Curie Fellow. There he studied how extracellular matrix influences physiological responses. In 2015 he joined the laboratory of Prof. Joachim Spatz at the Max Planck Institute for Medical Research in Heidelberg (Germany) deepening his knowledge on cell adhesion at biophysical levels. Since 2019 he is an independent group leader at the Interdisciplinary Center for Clinical Research of the RWTH Aachen. Jacopo Di Russo’s research aims to understand the interplay of extracellular matrix biochemical and physical information in controlling epithelial mechanobiology.
Date: 16th December
Time: 4.00 PM
Venue: IDR Classroom – 05: G21