Jon Humphries

Tumor Microenvironment in Melanoma-Characteristic and Clinical Implications
www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/26...

Cytochalasins Suppress 3D Migration of ECM-Embedded Tumoroids at Non-Toxic Concentrations
www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/26...

Collagen XVII promotes pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma tumor growth through regulation of PIK3R5
aacrjournals.org/cancerrescom...

Overexpression of endothelial β4 integrin has no impact on blood-brain barrier integrity or the pathogenesis of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis Laminin is a major component of the vascular basement membrane and transgenic mice deficient in astrocyte or pericyte laminin manifest blood-brain bar…

Overexpression of endothelial β4 integrin has no impact on blood-brain barrier integrity or the pathogenesis of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

A STAT3/integrin axis accelerates pancreatic cancer initiation and progression The signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) pathway drives pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) progression by coordinating cell…

A STAT3/integrin axis accelerates pancreatic cancer initiation and progression
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

The kinesin KIF3AC recycles endocytosed integrin to polarize new adhesion formation toward the leading edge | PNAS The recycling of integrin endocytosed during focal adhesion (FA) disassembly is critical for cell migration and contributes to the polarized format...

The kinesin KIF3AC recycles endocytosed integrin to polarize new adhesion formation toward the leading edge
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

Mammalian cells measure the extracellular matrix area and respond through switching the adhesion state - Nature Communications Whether and how cells measure and regulate their adhesion in response to the extracellular matrix area is unknown. Here, the authors show that cells adhering to restricted matrix protein areas exhibit a spatially enhanced adhesion state with much higher force per unit area compared to cells on larger areas.

Mammalian cells measure the extracellular matrix area and respond through switching the adhesion state
www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Uridine phosphorylase-1 supports metastasis by altering immune and extracellular matrix landscapes | EMBO reports imageimageMetastatic primary tumours upregulate Upp1 in neutrophils, which elevates circulating uracil. UPP1-expressing neutrophils accumulate in the lung where they inhibit CD8+ T cells, promote fibronectin deposition and support metastatic niche ...

And the original publication is here:
Uridine phosphorylase-1 supports metastasis by altering immune and extracellular matrix landscapes | EMBO reports share.google/JXMzGDRzpl0E...

How to write an exciting grant

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EMBL researchers and their collaborators have provided exciting new insights into human genetic variation by building upon the 1000 Genomes Project dataset.

The two studies constitute what may be the most complete overview of the human genome to date.

www.embl.org/news/science...

LIM Domain Proteins link molecular and global tension by recognizing strained actin in adhesions Mechanotransduction is fundamental to cell signaling and depends on force-sensitive adhesion proteins. How these proteins differentiate and integrate their responses to tension remains an open questio...

Congratulations to @stefanosala89.bsky.social , with help from @shreya-c.bsky.social al‬ on the optogenetic experiments, for the awesome story! Read the full preprint here: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1... and thanks for listening!

An extracellular matrix niche secreted by epithelial cells drives intestinal organoid formation Intestinal organoids have become an important model system in basic and translational research, but their culture typically relies on an ill-defined l…

An extracellular matrix niche secreted by epithelial cells drives intestinal organoid formation
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Fibrillin-Related Proteins Control Calcium Homeostasis in Dystrophic Muscle Across Species Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) involves progressive muscle degeneration associated with calcium dysregulation, but the mechanisms linking extracellular matrix (ECM) integrity to calcium homeostasis...

www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Hydrogel viscoelasticity modulates cell nascent extracellular matrix deposition Polymeric hydrogels are valuable platforms for determining how specific mechanical properties of native tissue extracellular matrix (ECM) regulate cell function. Recent research has focused on incorpo...

www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Thrombospondin 2 drives liver metastasis in skin cutaneous... : Melanoma Research potential. Functional analyses were conducted after THBS2 knockdown in A375 cells and overexpression in G-361 cells. Effects on migration, invasion, endothelial tube formation, and angiogenesis- and E...

Thrombospondin 2 drives liver metastasis in skin cutaneous melanoma via regulation of angiogenesis and extracellular matrix remodeling
journals.lww.com/melanomarese...

EPLINα controls integrin recycling from Rab21 endosomes to drive breast cancer cell migration Epithelial protein lost in neoplasm (EPLIN), an actin-binding protein, has been described as both a tumor promoter and tumor suppressor in different c…

Excited to share our most recent study on #integrintraffic #cancer #migration #focaladhesion by @ivaskalab.bsky.social @drpaulinamoreno.bsky.social Niklas Jäntti et al www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

EPLINα controls integrin recycling from Rab21 endosomes to drive breast cancer cell migration Epithelial protein lost in neoplasm (EPLIN), an actin-binding protein, has been described as both a tumor promoter and tumor suppressor in different c…

EPLINα controls integrin recycling from Rab21 endosomes to drive breast cancer cell migration
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Exosomes are specialized vehicles to induce fibronectin assembly Fibronectin is a key stromal matrix molecule whose assembly into fibrils is thought to require cells. In contrast, we find that small exosome-type extracellular vesicles (EVs) are critical initiators ...

www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

The nucleus forms a dynamic contact with the plasma membrane to maintain the glandular epithelial architecture The maintenance of epithelial architecture relies on precise mechanical and biochemical cues. Recent studies reveal an unexpected role for the nucleus in maintaining epithelial architecture, but how t...

www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

HIF-1 promotes murine breast cancer brain metastasis by increasing production of integrin β3–containing extracellular vesicles
www.jci.org/articles/vie...

Stiffness sensing fuels matrix-driven metabolic reboot for kidney repair and regeneration Kidney repair after acute kidney injury ( AKI ) relies on a finely tuned extracellular matrix ( ECM ) that provides structural integrity and mechanical cues. As primary ECM architects, fibroblasts and...

www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Stromal LOX/FAK/beta catenin pathway locks mammary fibroblasts into a tumor-promoting myCAF state https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.07.11.664481v1

Targeting Cholesterol-Dependent Piezo1 Activation Impairs Amoeboid Migration in Melanoma Cells https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.07.11.664494v1

The future of tumor organoids in precision therapy Tumoroids are cultures of patient-derived tumor cells, which are grown in 3D in the presence of an extracellular matrix extract and specific growth factors. Tumoroids can be generated from adult as we...

The future of tumor organoids in precision therapy
www.cell.com/trends/cance...

Building basement membranes with computational approaches Basement membranes (BMs) are dense extracellular matrix scaffolds that support cells. Their composition, structure and dynamic regulation are vital fo…

Building basement membranes with computational approaches
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Sweet and sticky: increased cell adhesion through click-mediated functionalization of regenerative liver progenitor cells - Communications Biology Coating single cells with adhesive polymers through covalent click chemistry approaches increases cell adhesion to extra-cellular matrix proteins and endothelial cells. This strategy opens new avenues...

Sweet and sticky: increased cell adhesion through click-mediated functionalization of regenerative liver progenitor cells
www.nature.com/articles/s42...

Hepatitis B virus-infected hepatocytes promote the secretion of collagen VI to the extracellular matrix - Scientific Reports Scientific Reports - Hepatitis B virus-infected hepatocytes promote the secretion of collagen VI to the extracellular matrix

Hepatitis B virus-infected hepatocytes promote the secretion of collagen VI to the extracellular matrix
www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Focal adhesion-related non-ciliary functions of CEP290 Nearly all differentiated mammalian cells possess primary cilia on their surface. Ciliary dysfunction causes ciliopathy in humans. Centrosomal protein 290 (CEP290), a ciliary protein implicated in cil...

Focal adhesion-related non-ciliary functions of CEP290
journals.plos.org/plosone/arti...

Spatial Proteomics of the Normal Breast Collagen Stroma: Links to BI-RADS Categories and Body Mass Index Collagen breast stroma is the basis of increased breast density and a well-established breast cancer risk factor, yet proteomic regulation of normal breast stroma remains poorly defined. This study re...

www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...