20210901

A talented MBSB student, Kirill Lavrenyuk, published his first-author review, “Imaging methods in mechanosensing: a historical perspective and visions for the future,” Mol Biol Cell. 2021, 32(9):842-854. (doi: 10.1091/mbc.E20-10-0671). In this work, he discusses the recent history of mechanobiology over the past 25 years and highlights the emerging technologies and theories that are driving the field forward. To fully understand the mechanical nature of biological systems, recent technologies have pushed the limit of what is observable, from protein-protein interactions, to cell-cell, and even whole tissue mechanics.

In another recent work, “A single stiffened nucleus alters cell dynamics and coherence in a monolayer”, Cytoskeleton. 2021 (doi: 10.1002/cm.21660) Kirill worked with a talented team from Institute for Systems and Robotics in Portugal to develop a new methodology to measure collective cell behavior within monolayers. By comparing healthy nuclei to those overexpressing a Lamin-A mutant found in Hutchinson-Gilford Progeria Syndrome (HGPS), they showed that cellular migration within a monolayer is substantially altered in cells neighboring the HGPS Lamin-A expressing-cells.  

By MBSB.