Correlations of Behavioral Deficits with Brain Pathology Assessed through Longitudinal MRI and Histopathology in the R6/2 Mouse Model of HD

Huntington's disease (HD) is caused by the expansion of a CAG repeat in the huntingtin (HTT) gene. The R6/2 mouse model of HD expresses a mutant version of exon 1 HTT and develops motor and cognitive impairments, a widespread huntingtin (HTT) aggregate pathology and brain atrophy. Despite the vast number of studies that have been performed on this model, the association between the molecular and cellular neuropathology with brain atrophy, and with the development of behavioral phenotypes remains poorly understood. In an attempt to link these factors, we have performed longitudinal assessments of behavior (rotarod, open field, passive avoidance) and of regional brain abnormalities determined through magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) (whole brain, striatum, cortex, hippocampus, corpus callosum), as well as an end-stage histological assessment. Detailed correlative analyses of these three measures were then performed. We found a gender-dependent emergence of motor impairments that was associated with an age-related loss of regional brain volumes. MRI measurements further indicated that there was no striatal atrophy, but rather a lack of striatal growth beyond 8 weeks of age. T2 relaxivity further indicated tissue-level changes within brain regions. Despite these dramatic motor and neuroanatomical abnormalities, R6/2 mice did not exhibit neuronal loss in the striatum or motor cortex, although there was a significant increase in neuronal density due to tissue atrophy. The deposition of the mutant HTT (mHTT) protein, the hallmark of HD molecular pathology, was widely distributed throughout the brain. End-stage histopathological assessments were not found to be as robustly correlated with the longitudinal measures of brain atrophy or motor impairments. In conclusion, modeling pre-manifest and early progression of the disease in more slowly progressing animal models will be key to establishing which changes are causally related. © 2013 Rattray et al

Magnetic resonance microimaging of the spinal cord in the SOD1 mouse model of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis detects motor nerve root degeneration

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is characterized by selective degeneration of motor neurons. Current imaging studies have concentrated on areas of the brain and spinal cord that contain mixed populations of sensory and motor neurons. In this study, ex vivo magnetic resonance microimaging (MRM) was used to separate motor and sensory components by visualizing individual dorsal and ventral roots in fixed spinal cords. MRM at 15 pm in plane resolution enabled the axons of pure populations of sensory and motor neurons to be measured in the lumbar region of the SOD1 mouse model of ALS. MRM signal intensity increased by 38.3% (p < 0.05) exclusively in the ventral motor nerve roots of the lumbar spinal cord of ALS-affected SOD1 mice compared to wildtype littermates. The hyperintensity was therefore limited to white matter tracts arising from the motor neurons, whereas sensory white matter fibers were unchanged. Significant decreases in ventral nerve root volume were also detected in the SOD1 mice, which correlated with the axonal degeneration observed by microscopy. These results demonstrate the usefulness of MRM in visualizing the ultrastructure of the mouse spinal cord. The detailed 3D anatomy allowed the processes of pure populations of sensory and motor neurons to be compared. (C) 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved

On the preservation of fibre direction during axisymmetric hyperelastic mass-growth of a finite fibre-reinforced tube

Several types of tube-like fibre-reinforced tissue, including arteries and veins, different kinds of muscle, biological tubes as well as plants and trees, grow in an axially symmetric manner that preserves their own shape as well as the direction and, hence, the shape of their embedded fibres. This study considers the general, three-dimensional, axisymmetric mass-growth pattern of a finite tube reinforced by a single family of fibres growing with and within the tube, and investigates the influence that the preservation of fibre direction exerts on relevant mathematical modelling, as well on the physical behaviour of the tube. Accordingly, complete sets of necessary conditions that enable such axisymmetric tube patterns to take place are initially developed, not only for fibres preserving a general direction, but also for all six particular cases in which the fibres grow normal to either one or two of the cylindrical polar coordinate directions. The implied conditions are of kinematic character but are independent of the constitutive behaviour of the growing tube material. Because they hold in addition to, and simultaneously with standard kinematic relations and equilibrium equations, they describe growth by an overdetermined system of equations. In cases of hyperelastic mass-growth, the additional information they thus provide enable identification of specific classes of strain energy densities for growth that are admissible and, therefore, suitable for the implied type of axisymmetric tube mass-growth to take place. The presented analysis is applicable to many different particular cases of axisymmetric mass-growth of tube-like tissue, though admissible classes of relevant strain energy densities for growth are identified only for a few example applications. These consider and discuss cases of relevant hyperelastic mass-growth which (i) is of purely dilatational nature, (ii) combines dilatational and torsional deformation, (iii) enables preservation of shape and direction of helically growing fibres, as well as (iv) plane fibres growing on the cross-section of an infinitely long fibre-reinforced tube. The analysis can be extended towards mass-growth modelling of tube-like tissue that contains two or more families of fibres. Potential combination of the outlined theoretical process with suitable data obtained from relevant experimental observations could lead to realistic forms of much sought strain energy functions for growth

Homogenized stiffness matrices for mineralized collagen fibrils and lamellar bone using unit cell finite element models

Mineralized collagen fibrils have been usually analyzed like a two phase composite material where crystals are considered as platelets that constitute the reinforcement phase. Different models have been used to describe the elastic behavior of the material. In this work, it is shown that, when Halpin-Tsai equations are applied to estimate elastic constants from typical constituent properties, not all crystal dimensions yield a model that satisfy thermodynamic restrictions. We provide the ranges of platelet dimensions that lead to positive definite stiffness matrices. On the other hand, a finite element model of a mineralized collagen fibril unit cell under periodic boundary conditions is analyzed. By applying six canonical load cases, homogenized stiffness matrices are numerically calculated. Results show a monoclinic behavior of the mineralized collagen fibril. In addition, a 5-layer lamellar structure is also considered where crystals rotate in adjacent layers of a lamella. The stiffness matrix of each layer is calculated applying Lekhnitskii transformations and a new finite lement model under periodic boundary conditions is analyzed to calculate the homogenized 3D anisotropic stiffness matrix of a unit cell of lamellar bone. Results are compared with the rule-of-mixtures showing in general good agreement.The authors acknowledge the Ministerio de Economia y Competitividad the financial support given through the project DPI2010-20990 and the Generalitat Valenciana through the Programme Prometeo 2012/023. The authors thank Ms. Carla Gonzalez Carrillo by her help in the development of some of the numerical models.Vercher Martínez, A.; Giner Maravilla, E.; Arango Villegas, C.; Tarancón Caro, JE.; Fuenmayor Fernández, FJ. (2014). Homogenized stiffness matrices for mineralized collagen fibrils and lamellar bone using unit cell finite element models. Biomechanics and Modeling in Mechanobiology. 13(2):1-21. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10237-013-0507-yS121132Akiva U, Wagner HD, Weiner S (1998) Modelling the three-dimensional elastic constants of parallel-fibred and lamellar bone. J Mater Sci 33:1497–1509Ascenzi A, Bonucci E (1967) The tensile properties of single osteons. Anat Rec 158:375–386Ascenzi A, Bonucci E (1968) The compressive properties of single osteons. Anat Rec 161:377–392Ashman RB, Cowin SC, van Buskirk WC, Rice JC (1984) A continuous wave technique for the measurement of the elastic properties of cortical bone. J Biomech 17:349–361Bar-On B, Wagner HD (2012) Elastic modulus of hard tissues. J Biomech 45:672–678Bondfield W, Li CH (1967) Anisotropy of nonelastic flow in bone. J Appl Phys 38:2450–2455Cowin SC (2001) Bone mechanics handbook, 2nd edn. CRC Press Boca Raton, FloridaCowin SC, van Buskirk WC (1986) Thermodynamic restrictions on the elastic constant of bone. J Biomech 19:85–86Currey JD (1962) Strength of bone. Nature 195:513Cusack S, Miller A (1979) Determination of the elastic constants of collagen by brillouin light scattering. J Mol Biol 135:39–51Doty S, Robinson RA, Schofield B (1976) Morphology of bone and histochemical staining characteristics of bone cells. In: Aurbach GD (ed) Handbook of physiology. American Physiology Soc, Washington, pp 3–23Erts D, Gathercole LJ, Atkins EDT (1994) Scanning probe microscopy of crystallites in calcified collagen. J Mater Sci Mater Med 5:200–206Faingold A, Sidney RC, Wagner HD (2012) Nanoindentation of osteonal bone lamellae. J Mech Biomech Materials 9:198–206Franzoso G, Zysset PK (2009) Elastic anisotropy of human cortical bone secondary osteons measured by nanoindentation. J Biomech Eng 131:021001Gebhardt W (1906) Über funktionell wichtige Anordnungsweisen der eineren und grösseren Bauelemente des Wirbeltierknochens. II. Spezieller Teil. Der Bau der Haversschen Lamellensysteme und seine funktionelle Bedeutung. Arch Entwickl Mech Org 20:187–322Gibson RF (1994) Principles of composite material mechanics. McGraw-Hill, New YorkGiraud-Guille M (1988) Twisted plywood architecture of collagen fibrils in human compact bone osteons. Calcif Tissue Int 42:167–180Gurtin ME (1972) The linear theory of elasticity. Handbuch der Physik VIa/ 2:1–296Halpin JC (1992) Primer on composite materials: analysis, 2nd edn. CRC Press, Taylor & Francis, Boca Raton, FloridaHassenkam T, Fantner GE, Cutroni JA, Weaver JC, Morse DE, Hanma PK (2004) High-resolution AFM imaging of intact and fractured trabecular bone. Bone 35:4–10Hohe J (2003) A direct homogenization approach for determination of the stiffness matrix for microheterogeneous plates with application to sandwich panels. Composites Part B 34:615–626Hulmes DJS, Wess TJ, Prockop DJ, Fratzl P (1995) Radial packing, order, and disorder in collagen fibrils. Biophys J 68:1661–1670Jäger I, Fratzl P (2000) Mineralized collagen fibrils: a mechanical model with a staggered arrangement of mineral particles. Biophys J 79:1737–1746Ji B, Gao H (2004) Mechanical properties of nanostructure of biological materials. J Mech Phy Sol 52:1963–1990Landis WJ, Hodgens KJ, Aerna J, Song MJ, McEwen BF (1996) Structural relations between collagen and mineral in bone as determined by high voltage electron microscopic tomography. Microsc Res Tech 33:192–202Lekhnitskii SG (1963) Theory of elasticity of an anisotropic elastic body. Holden-Day, San FranciscoLempriere BM (1968) Poisson’s ratio in orthotropic materials. Am Inst Aeronaut Astronaut J J6:2226–2227Lowenstam HA, Weiner S (1989) On biomineralization. Oxford University, New YorkLusis J, Woodhams RT, Xhantos M (1973) The effect of flake aspect ratio on flexural properties of mica reinforced plastics. Polym Eng Sci 13:139–145Martínez-Reina J, Domínguez J, García-Aznar JM (2011) Effect of porosity and mineral content on the elastic constants of cortical bone: a multiscale approach. Biomech Model Mechanobiol 10:309–322Orgel JPRO, Miller A, Irving TC, Fischetti RF, Hammersley AP, Wess TJ (2001) The in situ supermolecular structure of type I collagen. Structure 9:1061–1069Padawer GE, Beecher N (1970) On the strength and stiffness of planar reinforced plastic resins. Polym Eng Sci 10:185–192Pahr DH, Rammerstofer FG (2006) Buckling of honeycomb sandwiches: periodic finite element considerations. Comput Model Eng Sci 12:229–242Reisinger AG, Pahr DH, Zysset PK (2010) Sensitivity analysis and parametric study of elastic properties of an unidirectional mineralized bone fibril-array using mean field methods. Biomech Model Mechanobiol 9:499–510Reisinger AG, Pahr DH, Zysset PK (2011) Elastic anisotropy of bone lamellae as a function of fibril orientation pattern. Biomech Model Mechanobiol 10:67–77Rezkinov N, Almany-Magal R, Shahar R, Weiner S (2013) Three-dimensional imaging of collagen fibril organization in rat circumferential lamellar bone using a dual beam electron microscope reveals ordered and disordered sub-lamellar structures. Bone 52(2):676–683Rho JY, Kuhn-Spearing L, Zioupos P (1998) Mechanical properties and the hierarchical structure of bone. Med Eng Phys 20:92–102Rubin MA, Jasiuk I, Taylor J, Rubin J, Ganey T, Apkarian RP (2003) TEM analysis of the nanostructure of normal and osteoporotic human trabecular bone. Bone 33:270–282Suquet P (1987) Lecture notes in physics-homogenization techniques for composite media. Chapter IV. Springer, BerlinWagermaier W, Gupta HS, Gourrier A, Burghammer M, Roschger P, Fratzl P (2006) Spiral twisting of fiber orientation inside bone lamellae. Biointerphases 1:1–5Wagner HD, Weiner S (1992) On the relationship between the microstructure of bone and its mechanical stiffness. J Biomech 25:1311–1320Weiner S, Wagner HD (1998) The material bone: structure-mechanical function relations. Annu Rev Mater Sci 28:271–298Weiner S, Traub W, Wagner H (1999) Lamellar bone: structure-function relations. J Struct Biol 126:241–255Yao H, Ouyang L, Ching W (2007) Ab initio calculation of elastic constants of ceramic crystals. J Am Ceram 90:3194–3204Yoon YJ, Cowin SC (2008b) The estimated elastic constants for a single bone osteonal lamella. Biomech Model Mechanobiol 7:1–11Yuan F, Stock SR, Haeffner DR, Almer JD, Dunand DC, Brinson LC (2011) A new model to simulate the elastic properties of mineralized collagen fibril. Biomech Model Mechanobiol 10:147–160Zhang Z, Zhang YWF, Gao H (2010) On optimal hierarchy of load-bearing biological materials. Proc R Soc B 278:519–525Zuo S, Wei Y (2007) Effective elastic modulus of bone-like hierarchical materials. Acta Mechanica Solida Sinica 20:198–20

New Suggestions for the Mechanical Control of Bone Remodeling

Bone is constantly renewed over our lifetime through the process of bone (re)modeling. This process is important for bone to allow it to adapt to its mechanical environment and to repair damage from everyday life. Adaptation is thought to occur through the mechanosensitive response controlling the bone-forming and -resorbing cells. This report shows a way to extract quantitative information about the way remodeling is controlled using computer simulations. Bone resorption and deposition are described as two separate stochastic processes, during which a discrete bone packet is removed or deposited from the bone surface. The responses of the bone-forming and -resorbing cells to local mechanical stimuli are described by phenomenological remodeling rules. Our strategy was to test different remodeling rules and to evaluate the time evolution of the trabecular architecture in comparison to what is known from μ-CT measurements of real bone. In particular, we tested the reaction of virtual bone to standard therapeutic strategies for the prevention of bone deterioration, i.e., physical activity and medications to reduce bone resorption. Insensitivity of the bone volume fraction to reductions in bone resorption was observed in the simulations only for a remodeling rule including an activation barrier for the mechanical stimulus above which bone deposition is switched on. This is in disagreement with the commonly used rules having a so-called lazy zone

Can host reaction animal models be used to predict and modulate skin regeneration?

The study of host reactions in the biomedical and tissue engineering (TE) fields is a key issue but somehow set aside where TE constructs are concerned. Every day new biomaterials and TE constructs are being developed and presented to the scientific community. The combination of cells and biomolecules with scaffolding materials, as TE constructs, make the isolation and the understanding of the effect of each one those elements over the overall host reaction difficult. Eventually, all variables influence the host reaction and the performance of the constructs. For this reason, current assessment of the in vivo performance of TE constructs follows individual approaches, using specific animal models to independently provide insights regarding the contribution of the biomaterials/scaffolds towards the host reaction, and of all the constructs regarding their functionality. Skin wound healing progress into tissue regeneration or repair is highly dependent on the specificities of the inflammatory stage, as demonstrated by comparison between fetal and adult mechanisms. Thus, it would be expected that insights acquired from host tissue reaction evaluation to biomaterials/scaffolds would be explored to predict healing progression and improve the functionality of skin TE constructs. The rational of this review is to make a comprehensive analysis of to what extent the knowledge obtained from the evaluation of in vivo host reactions to implantable biomaterials/scaffolds has been used in the design of skin TE strategies, by promoting tissue regeneration rather than repair.T.C.S. acknowledges Grant No. RL3-TECT-NORTE-01-0124-FEDER-000020, co-financed by the North Portugal Regional Operational Programme (ON.2-O Novo Norte), under the National Strategic Reference Framework, through the European Regional Development Fund

Cell influx and contractile actomyosin force drive mammary bud growth and invagination

Attribution–Noncommercial–Share Alike–No Mirror Sites licenseThe mammary gland develops from the surface ectoderm during embryogenesis and proceeds through morphological phases defined as placode, hillock, bud, and bulb stages followed by branching morphogenesis. During this early morphogenesis, the mammary bud undergoes an invagination process where the thickened bud initially protrudes above the surface epithelium and then transforms to a bulb and sinks into the underlying mesenchyme. The signaling pathways regulating the early morphogenetic steps have been identified to some extent, but the underlying cellular mechanisms remain ill defined. Here, we use 3D and 4D confocal microscopy to show that the early growth of the mammary rudiment is accomplished by migration-driven cell influx, with minor contributions of cell hypertrophy and proliferation. We delineate a hitherto undescribed invagination mechanism driven by thin, elongated keratinocytes-ring cells-that form a contractile rim around the mammary bud and likely exert force via the actomyosin network. Furthermore, we show that conditional deletion of nonmuscle myosin IIA (NMIIA) impairs invagination, resulting in abnormal mammary bud shape.Peer reviewe

Explicit expressions for the estimation of the elastic constants of lamellar bone as a function of the volumetric mineral content using a multi-scale approach

[EN] In this work, explicit expressions to estimate all the transversely isotropic elastic constants of lamellar bone as a function of the volumetric bone mineral density (BMD) are provided. The methodology presented is based on the direct homogenization procedure using the finite element method, the continuum approach based on the Hill bounds, the least-square method and the mean field technique. Firstly, a detailed description of the volumetric content of the different components of bone is provided. The parameters defined in this step are related to the volumetric BMD considering that bone mineralization process occurs at the smallest scale length of the bone tissue. Then, a thorough description provides the details of the numerical models and the assumptions adopted to estimate the elastic behaviour of the forward scale lengths. The results highlight the noticeable influence of the BMD on the elastic modulus of lamellar bone. Power law regressions fit the Young's moduli, shear stiffness moduli and Poisson ratios. In addition, the explicit expressions obtained are applied to the estimation of the elastic constants of cortical bone. At this scale length, a representative unit cell of cortical bone is analysed including the fibril orientation pattern given by Wagermaier et al. (Biointerphases 1:1-5, 2006) and the BMD distributions observed by Granke et al. (PLoS One 8:e58043, 2012) for the osteon. Results confirm that fibril orientation arrangement governs the anisotropic behaviour of cortical bone instead of the BMD distribution. The novel explicit expressions obtained in this work can be used for improving the accuracy of bone fracture risk assessment.The authors acknowledge the Ministerio de Economia y Competitividad for the financial support received through the project DPI2013-46641-R and to the Generalitat Valenciana for Programme PROMETEO 2016/007. The authors declare that they have no conflict of interestVercher Martínez, A.; Giner Maravilla, E.; Belda, R.; Aigoun, A.; Fuenmayor Fernández, F. (2018). Explicit expressions for the estimation of the elastic constants of lamellar bone as a function of the volumetric mineral content using a multi-scale approach. Biomechanics and Modeling in Mechanobiology. 17(2):449-464. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10237-017-0971-xS449464172Akiva U, Wagner HD, Weiner S (1998) Modelling the three-dimensional elastic constants of parallel-fibred and lamellar bone. J Mater Sci 33:1497–1509Ascenzi A, Bonucci E (1967) The tensile properties of single osteons. Ana Rec 158:375–386Barbour KE, Zmuda JM, Strotmeyer ES, Horwitz MJ, Boudreau R, Evans RW, Ensrud K, Petit MA, Gordon CL, Cauley JA (2013) Correlates of trabecular and cortical volumetric bone mineral density of the radius and tibia older men: the osteoporotic fractures in men study. J Bone Miner Res 25(5):1017–1028Bar-On B, Wagner HD (2013) Structural motifs and elastic properties of hierarchical biological tissues—a review. J Struct Biol 183:149–164Cowin SC (2000) How is a tissue built? J Biomech Eng 122:553–569Cowin SC (2001) Bone mechanics handbook, 2nd edn. CRC Press, Boca RatonCurrey JD (1986) Power law models for the mechanical properties of cancellous bone. Eng Med 15(3):153–154Currey JD (1988) The effect of porosity and mineral content on the Young’s modulus of elasticity of compact bone. J Biomech 21:131–139Daszkiewicz K, Maquer G, Zysset PK (2017) The effective elastic properties of human trabecular bone may be approximated using micro-finite element analyses of embedded volume elements. Biomech Model Mechanobiol 16:731–742Faingold A, Sidney RC, Wagner HD (2012) Nanoindentation of osteonal bone lamellae. J Mech Biomech Materials 9:198–206Fratzl P, Fratzl-Zelman N, Klaushofer K, Vogl G, Koller K (1991) Nucleation and growth of mineral crystals in bone studied by small-angle X-ray scattering. Calcif Tissue Int 48:407–413Fritsch A, Hellmich C (2007) ’Universal’ microstructural patterns in cortical and trabecular, extracellular and extravascular bone materials: micromechanics-based prediction of anisotropic elasticity. J Theo Biol 24:597–620Grampp S, Genant HK, Mathur A, Lang P, Jergas M, Takada M, Glüer CC, Lu Y, Chavez M (1997) Comparisons of noninvasive bone mineral measurements in assessing age-related loss, fracture discrimination and diagnostic classification. J Bone Miner Res 12:697–711Grant CA, Langton C, Schuetz MA, Epari DR (2011) Determination of the material properties of ovine cortical bone. Poster No. 2226, 57th Orthopaedic Research Society (ORS) Annual meeting, Long Beach, CaliforniaGranke M, Gourrier A, Rupin F, Raum K, Peyrin F, Burghammer M, Saïd A, Laugier P (2012) Microfibril orientation dominates the microelastic properties of human bone tissue at the lamellar length scale. PLoS One 8:e58043Gurtin ME (1972) The linear theory of elasticity. Handbuch del Physik VIa 2:1–296Hamed E, Jasiuk I (2012) Elastic modeling of bone at nanostructural level. Mat Sci Eng R73:27–49Hernández CJ, Beaupré GS, Keller TS, Carter DR (2001a) The influence of bone volume fraction and ash fraction on bone strength and modulus. Bone 29:74–78Hill R (1952) The elastic behaviour of a crystalline aggregate. Proc Phys Soc Sec A 65:349–354Hodge AJ, Petruska JA (1963) Recent studies with the electron microscope on ordered aggregates of the tropocollagen macromolecule. In: Ramachandran GN (ed) Aspects of protein structure. Academic Press, New York, pp 289–300Jäger I, Fratzl P (2000) Mineralized collagen: a mechanical model with a staggered arrangement of mineral particles. Biophys J 78:1737–1746Kuhn JL, Goldstein SA, Choi K, London M, Feldkamp LA, Matthews LS (1989) Comparison of the trabecular and cortical tissue moduli from human iliac crests. J Orthop Res 7:876–884Landis WJ, Song MJ, Leith A, McEwen L, McEwen BF (1993) Mineral and organic matrix interaction in normally calcifying tendon visualized in three dimensions by high-voltage electron microscopic tomography and graphic image reconstruction. J Struct Biol 110:39–54Lees S, Heeley JD, Cleary PF (1979) A study of some properties of a sample of bovine cortical bone using ultrasound. Calcif Tissue Int 29:107–117Lekhnitskii SG (1963) Theory of elasticity of anisotropic elastic body. Holden-Day, San Francisco, pp 1–73Lempriere BM (1968) Poisson’s ratio in orthotropic materials. Am Inst Aeronaut Astronaut J J6:2226–2227Liu Y, Kim YK, Dai L, Li N, Khan SO, Pashley DH, Tay FR (2011) Hierarchical and non-hierarchical mineralization of collagen. Biomater 32:1291–1300Majumdar S, Kothari M, Augat P, Newitt DC, Link TM, Lin JC, Lang T, Lu Y, Genant HK (1998) High-resolution magnetic resonance imaging: three-dimensional trabecular bone architecture and biomechanical properties. Bone 22(5):445–454Martínez-Reina J, Domínguez J, García-Aznar JM (2011) Effect of porosity and mineral content on the elastic constants of cortical bone: a multiscale approach. Biomech Model Mechanobiol 10:309–322Nobakhti S, Limbert G, Thurner PJ (2014) Cement lines and interlamellar areas in compact bone as strain amplifiers—Contributors to elasticity, fracture toughness and mechanotransduction. J Mech Behav Biomed Mater 29:235–251Orgel JPRO, Irving TC, Miller A, Wess TJ (2006) Microfibrillar structure of type I collagen in situ. PNAS USA 103:9001–9005Reisinger AG, Pahr DH, Zysset PK (2010) Sensitivity analysis and parametric study of elastic properties of unidirectional mineralized bone fibril-array using mean field methods. Biomech Model Mechanobiol 9:499–510Reisinger AG, Pahr DH, Zysset PK (2011) Elastic anisotropy of bone lamellae as a function of fibril orientation pattern. Biomech Model Mechanobiol 10:67–77Rho JY, Kuhn-Spearing L, Zioupos P (1998) Mechanical properties and the hierarchical structure of bone. Med Eng Phys 20:92–102Robinson RA, Rochester MD (1952) An electron-microscopic study of the crystalline inorganic component of bone and its relationship to the organic matrix. J Bone Joint Surg 34–a:389–435Roque WL, Arcaro K, Alberich-Bayarri A (2013) Mechanical competence of bone: a new parameter to grade trabecular bone fragility from tortuosity and elasticity. IEEE Trans Bio Eng 60:1363–1370Rubin MA, Jasiuk I, Taylor J, Rubin J, Ganey T, Apkarian RP (2003) TEM analysis of the nanostructure of normal and osteoporotic human trabecular bone. Bone 33:270–282Sasaki N, Tagami A, Goto T, Taniguchi M, Nakata M, Hikichi K (2002) Atomic force microscopic studies on the structure of bovine femoral cortical bone at the collagen fibril-mineral level. J Mater Sci Mater Med 13(3):333–337Schaffler MB, Burr DB (1988) Stiffness of compact bone: effects of porosity and density. J Biomech 21:13–16Silver FH, Landis WJ (2011) Deposition of apatite in mineralizing vertebrate extracellular matrices: a model of possible nucleation sites on type I collagen. Connect Tissue Res 52:242–254Tommasini SM, Nasser P, Hu B, Jepsen KJ (2008) Biological co-adaptation of morphological and composition traits contributes to mechanical functionality and skeletal fragility. J Bone Miner Res 23:236–246Ulrich D, Rietbergen B, Weinans H, Rüegsegger P (1998) Finite element analysis of trabecular bone structure: a comparison of image-based meshing techniques. J Biomech 31:1187–1192Ulrich D, Rietbergen B, Laib A, Rüegsegger P (1999) The ability of three-dimensional structural indices to reflect mechanical aspects of trabecular bone. Bone 25:55–60Vercher A, Giner E, Arango C, Tarancón JE, Fuenmayor FJ (2014) Homogenized stiffness matrices for mineralized collagen fibrils and lamellar bone using unit cell finite element models. Biomech Model Mechanobiol 13:437–449Vercher-Martínez A, Giner E, Arango C, Fuenmayor FJ (2015) Influence of the mineral staggering on the elastic properties of the mineralized collagen fibril in lamellar bone. J Mech Behav Biomed Mater 42:243–256Wagermaier W, Gupta HS, Gourrier A, Burghammer M, Roschger P, Fratzl P (2006) Spiral twisting of fiber orientation inside bone lamellae. 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Activity of lapatinib a novel HER2 and EGFR dual kinase inhibitor in human endometrial cancer cells

In this study, we explore the therapeutic potential of lapatinib a selective inhibitor of both the EGFR and HER2 tyrosine kinases for the treatment of endometrial cancer. The effect of lapatinib on tumour cell growth and receptor activation was studied in a panel of human endometrial cancer cell lines. Candidate molecular markers predicting sensitivity were assessed by baseline gene expression profiling, ELISA, and western blot analyses. Multiple drug effect/combination index (CI) isobologram analysis was used to study the interactions between chemotherapeutic drugs and lapatinib. Concentration-dependent anti-proliferative effects of lapatinib were seen in all endometrial cancer cell lines tested, but varied significantly between individual cell lines (IC50 range: 0.052–10.9 μmol). HER2 overexpression or increased expression of EGFR was significantly associated with in vitro sensitivity (P=0.024 or 0.011, respectively). Lapatinib exerts growth inhibition in a PTEN-independent manner. Sensitive cell lines also exhibited increased expression of EGFR ligands or HER3. In contrast, lapatinib-resistant cell lines exhibited high androgen receptor (AR) levels or epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (post-EMT) features. In endometrial cancer cells, at a wide range of clinically achievable drug concentrations, additive and synergistic interactions were observed for lapatinib plus carboplatin, paclitaxel, docetaxel, and doxorubicin. These observations provide a clear biologic rational to test lapatinib as a single agent or in combination with chemotherapy in endometrial cancer with HER2 overexpression. Expression of EGFR, its ligands, HER3, AR, and post-EMT markers warrant further evaluation to help define patients with HER2-nonoverexpressing endometrial cancer most likely to benefit from lapatinib