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Fibrosis and solid tumor progression are closely related, with both involving pathways associated with chronic wound dysregulation. Fibroblasts contribute to extracellular matrix (ECM) remodeling in these processes, a crucial step in scarring, organ failure, and tumor growth, but little is known about the biophysical evolution of remodeling regulation during the development and progression of matrix-related diseases including fibrosis and cancer. A 3D collagen-based scaffold model is employed here to mimic mechanical changes in normal (2 kPa, soft) versus advanced pathological (12 kPa, stiff) tissues. Activated fibroblasts grown on stiff scaffolds show lower migration and increased cell circularity compared to those on soft scaffolds. This is reflected in gene expression profiles, with cells cultured on stiff scaffolds showing upregulated DNA replication, DNA repair, and chromosome organization gene clusters, and a concomitant loss of ability to remodel and deposit ECM. Soft scaffolds can reproduce biophysically meaningful microenvironments to investigate early stage processes in wound healing and tumor niche formation, while stiff scaffolds can mimic advanced fibrotic and cancer stages. These results establish the need for tunable, affordable 3D scaffolds as platforms for aberrant stroma research and reveal the contribution of physiological and pathological microenvironment biomechanics to gene expression changes in the stromal compartment.

Following our call to join in the discussion over the suitability of implementing a reporting checklist for bio–nano papers, the community responds.

Chromatrap® 96 (C96) is a high-throughput analysis platform that profiles up to 96 transcription factors and epigenetic modifications simultaneously in less than 1 d. It enables sensitive, selective and reproducible target amplification with excellent signal-to-noise ratios, even from samples as small as 0.1 μg. Compatible with automated handling, C96 allows simultaneous investigation of parallel epigenetic landscapes, offering unprecedented assay flexibility and speed.

Ovarian cancer is the seventh most common cancer in women with five-year survival rates of less than 45%, and only 20% of cases are detected at early stages of the disease. Major challenges still exist to treat this lethal disease.The development of new drugs that target better cancer cells and reduce side effects is highly needed. Selenium at high doses has been shown to act as a cytotoxic agent, with potential applications in cancer treatment. However, clinical trials have failed to show any chemotherapeutic value of selenium at safe and tolerated doses (, Le cancer des ovaires est le septième cancer le plus commun chez les femmes dont le taux de survie à 5 ans est en deçà de 45% et dont le taux de détection des premiers stades de développement est inférieur à 20%. Avant d’arriver à un traitement, de nombreux défis restent à relever.Le développement de nouveaux traitements ciblant spécifiquement les cellules cancéreuses en réduisant les effets secondaires liés au traitement est nécessaire. Pour cela, le Sélénium a été étudié et a démontré à forte doses d’être efficace contre les cellules cancéreuses in vitro. De plus, les essais cliniques ont montré que l’utilisation de doses tolérables de sélénium (