Chondrogenic differentiation: from stem cell to cartilage Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are multipotent stromal cells that can differentiate into a variety of cell types including osteoblasts (bone cells), neurones (nerve cells), chondrocytes (cartilage cells), myocytes (muscle cells), and adipocytes (fat cells). In this blogpost, we focus on chondrocytes, the cells that produce the cartilage that fills our joint and protects our bones. Differentiation is induced by specific culture conditions...

Glioblastoma: the most aggressive brain cancer Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is an aggressive brain tumor that places among the most lethal of cancers. Unfortunately, most patients with GBMs die of their disease in less than a year and long-term survival prospects are slim to none (1). Treating GBM is extremely complicated. Various deletions, amplifications, and point mutations overactivate receptor tyrosine kinases (RTKs) downstream signalling, which makes RTKs a compelling target for...

Stress fibers: what are they and why are they important? Stress fibers form the architecture of the cell. They are made of bundles of filaments composed from two strands of actin that are bound together by cross-linking proteins (see Figure 1). Their alignment, distribution and shape play a vital role in cell, adhesion, motility, and mechanosensing and they are fundamental to almost all biological processes. Co-localization of fluorescence stain with refractive index maps shows label-free...