M2-type macrophages (M2Φ) play a pro-tumorigenic role and are closely associated with tumor development, where metabolic dysregulation exacerbates the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment and fosters tumor growth. Mitochondria serve as the…
Multiparameter imaging reveals clinically relevant cancer cell-stroma interaction dynamics in head and neck cancer
Epithelial tumors are characterized by abundant inter- and intra-tumor heterogeneity, which complicates diagnostics and treatment. The contribution of cancer-stroma interactions to this heterogeneity is poorly understood. Here, we report a…
Glutaraldehyde-enhanced autofluorescence as a general tool for 3D morphological imaging
Routine histochemical techniques are capable of producing vast amount of information from diverse sample types, but these techniques are limited in their ability to generate 3D information. Autofluorescence imaging can…
MSc Thesis Project Expo 2024: Come and find MSc students to join your lab!
Are you looking for MSc students to join your group? Come to the MSc Thesis Project Expo on 4 December 2024 and pick the best students! MSc Thesis Project Expo…
Empirically establishing drug exposure records directly from untargeted metabolomics data
Despite extensive efforts, extracting information on medication exposure from clinical records remains challenging. To complement this approach, we developed the tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) based GNPS Drug Library. This resource…
Detection of Tn-antigen in breast and prostate cancer models by VVL-labeled red dye-doped nanoparticles
Aim: Fluorescence detection of breast and prostate cancer cells expressing Tn-antigen, a tumor marker, with Vicia villosa lectin (VVL)-labeled nanoparticles.Materials & methods: Breast and prostate cancer cells engineered to express…
Restoring mechanophenotype reverts malignant properties of ECM-enriched vocal fold cancer
Increased extracellular matrix (ECM) and matrix stiffness promote solid tumor progression. However, mechanotransduction in cancers arising in mechanically active tissues remains underexplored. Here, we report upregulation of multiple ECM components…
Concordant inter-laboratory derived concentrations of ceramides in human plasma reference materials via authentic standards
In this community effort, we compare measurements between 34 laboratories from 19 countries, utilizing mixtures of labelled authentic synthetic standards, to quantify by mass spectrometry four clinically used ceramide species…
Novo Nordisk grant to Pia Rantakari and Klaus Elenius
The Novo Nordisk Foundation awarded 2024 grants to five researchers from the University of Turku, totaling approximately €2,204,294. Among the grant recipients were: Docent, InFLAMES and Turku Bioscience group…
The role and regulation of integrins in cell migration and invasion
Integrin receptors are the main molecular link between cells and the extracellular matrix (ECM) as well as mediating cell-cell interactions. Integrin-ECM binding triggers the formation of heterogeneous multi-protein assemblies termed…