Background:Mammary progenitor cells(MPCs)maintain their reproductive potency through life,and their specific microenvironments exert a deterministic control over these cells.MPCs provides one kind of ideal tools for s...Background:Mammary progenitor cells(MPCs)maintain their reproductive potency through life,and their specific microenvironments exert a deterministic control over these cells.MPCs provides one kind of ideal tools for studying engineered microenvironmental influence because of its accessibility and continually undergoes postnatal developmental changes.The aim of our study is to explore the critical role of the engineered sweat gland(SG)microenvironment in reprogramming MPCs into functional SG cells.Methods:We have utilized a three-dimensional(3D)SG microenvironment composed of gelatin-alginate hydrogels and components from mouse SG extracellular matrix(SG-ECM)proteins to reroute the differentiation of MPCs to study the functions of this microenvironment.MPCs were encapsulated into the artificial SG microenvironment and were printed into a 3D cell-laden construct.The expression of specific markers at the protein and gene levels was detected after cultured 14 days.Results:Compared with the control group,immunofluorescence and gene expression assay demonstrated that MPCs encapsulated in the bioprinted 3D-SG microenvironment could significantly express the functional marker of mouse SG,sodium/potassium channel protein ATP1a1,and tend to express the specific marker of luminal epithelial cells,keratin-8.When the Shh pathway is inhibited,the expression of SG-associated proteins in MPCs under the same induction environment is significantly reduced.Conclusions:Our evidence proved the ability of differentiated mouse MPCs to regenerate SG cells by engineered SG microenvironment in vitro and Shh pathway was found to be correlated with the changes in the differentiation.These results provide insights into regeneration of damaged SG by MPCs and the role of the engineered microenvironment in reprogramming cell fate.展开更多
To achieve favorable Frictional Tactile Sensation （FTS） for robot and humanoid fingers, this report investigated the effects of human finger sweat on Friction Coefficient （FC） and verified the effectiveness of art...To achieve favorable Frictional Tactile Sensation （FTS） for robot and humanoid fingers, this report investigated the effects of human finger sweat on Friction Coefficient （FC） and verified the effectiveness of artificial sweat on FTS tbr a humanoid finger. The results show that the model sweat （salt and urea water faked real sweat） increases the FC of the real finger sliding on the high hygroscopic and rough surface （paper）, whereas on the low hygroscopic and smooth surface （PMMA）, the sweat forms a fluid film and decreases FC, restricting severe finger adhesion. Further, the film formation and capillary adhesion force of sweat were discussed. The experimental results with the artificial sweats （ethanol and water） and humanoid finger （silicone rubber skin with tactile sensors） verifies the effectiveness. The artificial sweat restricts severe adhesion （stick-slip vibration）, and enhances cognitive capability of FTS.展开更多
基金supported in part by the National Nature Science Foundation of China(81571909,81701906,81830064,81721092)the National Key Research Development Plan(2017YFC1103300)+1 种基金Military Logistics Research Key Project(AWS17J005)Fostering Funds of Chinese PLA General Hospital for National Distinguished Young Scholar Science Fund(2017-JQPY-002).
文摘Background:Mammary progenitor cells(MPCs)maintain their reproductive potency through life,and their specific microenvironments exert a deterministic control over these cells.MPCs provides one kind of ideal tools for studying engineered microenvironmental influence because of its accessibility and continually undergoes postnatal developmental changes.The aim of our study is to explore the critical role of the engineered sweat gland(SG)microenvironment in reprogramming MPCs into functional SG cells.Methods:We have utilized a three-dimensional(3D)SG microenvironment composed of gelatin-alginate hydrogels and components from mouse SG extracellular matrix(SG-ECM)proteins to reroute the differentiation of MPCs to study the functions of this microenvironment.MPCs were encapsulated into the artificial SG microenvironment and were printed into a 3D cell-laden construct.The expression of specific markers at the protein and gene levels was detected after cultured 14 days.Results:Compared with the control group,immunofluorescence and gene expression assay demonstrated that MPCs encapsulated in the bioprinted 3D-SG microenvironment could significantly express the functional marker of mouse SG,sodium/potassium channel protein ATP1a1,and tend to express the specific marker of luminal epithelial cells,keratin-8.When the Shh pathway is inhibited,the expression of SG-associated proteins in MPCs under the same induction environment is significantly reduced.Conclusions:Our evidence proved the ability of differentiated mouse MPCs to regenerate SG cells by engineered SG microenvironment in vitro and Shh pathway was found to be correlated with the changes in the differentiation.These results provide insights into regeneration of damaged SG by MPCs and the role of the engineered microenvironment in reprogramming cell fate.
文摘To achieve favorable Frictional Tactile Sensation （FTS） for robot and humanoid fingers, this report investigated the effects of human finger sweat on Friction Coefficient （FC） and verified the effectiveness of artificial sweat on FTS tbr a humanoid finger. The results show that the model sweat （salt and urea water faked real sweat） increases the FC of the real finger sliding on the high hygroscopic and rough surface （paper）, whereas on the low hygroscopic and smooth surface （PMMA）, the sweat forms a fluid film and decreases FC, restricting severe finger adhesion. Further, the film formation and capillary adhesion force of sweat were discussed. The experimental results with the artificial sweats （ethanol and water） and humanoid finger （silicone rubber skin with tactile sensors） verifies the effectiveness. The artificial sweat restricts severe adhesion （stick-slip vibration）, and enhances cognitive capability of FTS.
