One of the tightest bottlenecks in vascular tissue engineering is the lack of strength and elasticity of engineered vascular wall models caused by limited elastic fiber deposition. In this study, collagen gel-based scaffolds were cellularised with vascular smooth muscle cells (SMCs) and supplemented with human plasma fibronectin (FN), a known master organizer of several extracellular matrix (ECM) fiber systems.
Fibronectin is a protein that exists in vertebrates in two distinct forms: one present in the blood and the other in blood vessel walls. In mammals, fibronectin is important for the development of blood vessels before birth, but whether it is continuously required for blood vessel homeostasis from birth to adulthood is unknown. We present important results from three genetically modified mouse models, which show that at least one form of fibronectin is required for the proper function and integrity of blood vessels during this period.
Congratulations to Assistant Professor Dr. Huy Bui, who has been named a 2017 CIFAR Azrieli Global Scholar!
Unique collaboration of Dr. Dieter Reinhardt with geneticist Dr. Philippe Campeau at the Sainte-Justine Research Center leads to the identification of a new gene causing scoliosis and bone malformations, published in the American Journal of Human Genetics.
Congratulations to Dr. Carlos Morales, who has been awarded the prestigious Domingo Sarmiento Distinction by the Senate of Argentina for his contributions to medical science.
Fourteen of the 156 new 2012 Vanier Scholars will be attending McGill University, coming from countries as diverse as Australia, Belgium, Peru and the United States, as well as from Canada.
Cachexia, a syndrome characterized by rapid weight loss and muscle deterioration, is a major cause of death among patients suffering from diseases like cancer, AIDS and chronic infection. Now, a newly published study by McGill University researchers shows that a low dose of Pateamine A is effective at preventing cancer-induced muscle wasting, which may lead to cachexia-fighting drugs.
Whether it is for research into clean energy sources, the future of wireless communication or a better understanding of the processes involved in language learning, over 160 established McGill researchers and more than 80 graduate students will benefit from support from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) over the next five years.
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Prof. Ehab Abouheif, Dept. of Biology and a research team investigated which genes were being expressed during the development of antennae in male water striders. The antennae are used to grasp the females during mating. They then modified gene expression to see how this would be expressed in antennae development and success in mating. By doing so they were able to watch evolution in action.
McGill University is building on longstanding research collaborations with Brazil by announcing four partnership agreements with Brazilian universities. These agreements are being signed this week by Prof. Heather Munroe-Blum, Principal and Vice-Chancellor of McGill University.
The McGill University and Génome Québec Innovation Centre is pleased to announce that they have been awarded funding totalling $7.6 million over a two-year period from Genome Canada’s 2010 Competition. This award, a record for Québec, will fund the operations of the Innovation Centre as well as the services offered to scientific communities in Québec, the rest of Canada and around the world.
A current controversy raging in evolutionary biology is about whether adaptation to new environments is the result of many genes, each of relatively small effect, or just a few genes of large effect. A new study published in Molecular Ecology by McGill biologist Andrew Hendry and a colleague from Basel University strongly supports the first “many-small” hypothesis.