The matrix in focus: new directions in extracellular matrix research from the 2021 ASMB hybrid meeting

ABSTRACT The extracellular matrix (ECM) is a complex assembly of macromolecules that provides both architectural support and molecular signals to cells and modulate their behaviors. Originally considered a passive mechanical structure, decades of research have since demonstrated how the ECM dynamically regulates a diverse set of cellular processes in development, homeostasis, and disease progression. In September 2021, the American Society for Matrix Biology (ASMB) organized a hybrid scientific meeting, integrating in-person and virtual formats, to discuss the latest developments in ECM research. Here, we highlight exciting scientific advances that emerged from the meeting including (1) the use of model systems for fundamental and translation ECM research, (2) ECM-targeting approaches as therapeutic modalities, (3) cell-ECM interactions, and (4) the ECM as a critical component of tissue engineering strategies. In addition, we discuss how the ASMB incorporated mentoring, career development, and diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives in both virtual and in-person events. Finally, we reflect on the hybrid scientific conference format and how it will help the ASMB accomplish its mission moving forward.

An Efficient Data-Balancing Cyber-Physical System Paradigm for Quality-of-Service (QoS) Provision over Fog Computing

Cyber-physical systems (CPSs) have greatly contributed to many applications. A CPS is capable of integrating physical and computational capabilities to interact with individuals through various new modalities. However, there is a need for such a paradigm to focus on the human central nervous system to provide faster data access. This paper introduces the CPS paradigm that consists of CPS enabled human brain monitoring (CPS-HBM) and efficient data-balancing for CPS (EDB-CPS). The CPS-HBM provides architectural support to make an efficient and secure transfer and storage of the sensed data over fog cloud computing. The CPS-HBM consists of four components: physical domain and data processing (PDDP), brain sensor network (BSN), Service-oriented architecture (SOA), and data management domain (DMD). The EDB-CPS module aims to balance data flow for obtaining better throughput and lower hop-to-hop delay. The EDB-CPS accomplishes the goal by employing three processes: A node advertisement (NA), A node selection and recruitment (NSR), and optimal distance determination with mid-point (ODDMP). The processes of the EDB-CPS are performed on the PDDP of the CPS-HBM module. Thus, to determine the validity of EDB-CPS, the paradigm was programmed with C++ and implemented on a network simulator-3 (NS3). Finally, the performance of the proposed EDB-CPS was compared with state-of-the-art methods in terms of hop-to-hop delay and throughput. The proposed EDB-CPS produced better throughput between 443.2–445.2 KB/s and 0.05–0.078 ms hop-to-hop delay.

Images of Homelessness: The Home of the Needy Aged

Homelessness in 1880s New Zealand, as reported in the press, appears to be more intimate and less melodramatic than overseas examples. House fires, such as that of William Beals' eight-roomed house in Epsom, the destruction by fire of Mr Keogh's seven-roomed dwelling on the north-west side of Mount Pukekaroro, and the 1884 fire which broke out "on the grounds of St. Mary's Orphanage, Ponsonby" are examples. Chronic homelessness, when it appears, occurs via the reporting of institutional and architectural support structures. The paper will examine a specific example of an architecture for the homeless: the Home for the Needy Aged in Newtown, Wellington.

Architecture and Composition Dictate Viscoelastic Properties of Organ-Derived Extracellular Matrix Hydrogels

The proteins and polysaccharides of the extracellular matrix (ECM) provide architectural support as well as biochemical and biophysical instruction to cells. Decellularized, ECM hydrogels replicate in vivo functions. The ECM’s elasticity and water retention renders it viscoelastic. In this study, we compared the viscoelastic properties of ECM hydrogels derived from the skin, lung and (cardiac) left ventricle and mathematically modelled these data with a generalized Maxwell model. ECM hydrogels from the skin, lung and cardiac left ventricle (LV) were subjected to a stress relaxation test under uniaxial low-load compression at a 20%/s strain rate and the viscoelasticity determined. Stress relaxation data were modelled according to Maxwell. Physical data were compared with protein and sulfated GAGs composition and ultrastructure SEM. We show that the skin-ECM relaxed faster and had a lower elastic modulus than the lung-ECM and the LV-ECM. The skin-ECM had two Maxwell elements, the lung-ECM and the LV-ECM had three. The skin-ECM had a higher number of sulfated GAGs, and a highly porous surface, while both the LV-ECM and the lung-ECM had homogenous surfaces with localized porous regions. Our results show that the elasticity of ECM hydrogels, but also their viscoelastic relaxation and gelling behavior, was organ dependent. Part of these physical features correlated with their biochemical composition and ultrastructure.