Biology subjects

Schanne-Klein, M.-C.

Publications and source records attributed to Schanne-Klein, M.-C..

6 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2026

Advanced Optical Microscopy Reveals Spatio-Temporal Dynamics of Cervix Remodeling during Gestation

Collagen remodeling in the uterine cervix is a vital process in pregnancy that allows for timely fetal delivery, yet its spatio-temporal details are still not fully understood. In this study, we measured collagen reorganization at different stages of murine gestation and at various cervical depths. We used polarization-resolved Second Harmonic Generation microscopy to specifically detect fibrillar collagen and assess its orientation with sub-micrometer resolution. We imaged large cervical areas using automated mosaicking and implemented an analysis pipeline that showed significant region-dependent changes in collagen quantity, porosity, and orientation disorder. Notably, we found that collagen disorganization begins in the lower cervix at gestation day 12 and extends throughout the entire cervix by day 15. Additionally, we demonstrated that the temporal dynamics of disorganization, without spatial sensitivity, can also be tracked using Mueller Matrix imaging, which is a clinically deployable method. These findings should improve understanding and diagnosis of gestation-related issues such as premature birth.

biophysics↗

bioRxiv2025

Role of Neural Crest Cells in Establishing Corneal Transparency During Embryonic Development in Mice

This study deciphers the exquisitely timed cellular and molecular symphony orchestrating corneal development in mice, revealing how neural crest cells (NCCs) transition from multipotent progenitors to architects of a light-transmitting, mechanically robust stroma. Between embryonic day 10 until birth, NCCs undergo posteroanterior differentiation marked by sequential downregulation of stemness markers, paralleled by collagen I deposition initiating at E12. Stromal expansion and keratocyte-driven ECM remodelling yield precisely aligned collagen fibrils within lamellae a configuration enabling transparency through destructive interference of scattered light. Keratocytes adopt a dendritic morphology to minimize light scatter, while secreting crystallin-like proteins that match refractive indices between cells and matrix. Corneal endothelial maturation and dynamic ECM stratification culminate in a tissue optimized for both optical clarity and structural resilience. Our study elucidates the complex choreography of cellular and molecular events underpinning corneal development, offering novel insights into the acquisition of the corneas unique optical and biomechanical properties.

cell biology↗

bioRxiv2025

The extracellular matrix dictates ovarian cancer cell migration in an in vivo-derived circulating environment

Ovarian cancer (OC) disseminates via ascites and interaction with peritoneal extracellular matrix (ECM). To dissect the crosstalk between ECM and ascites in OC cell migration, we developed an ovarian tumor-on-chip integrating OC tumor spheroids, perfusion-induced shear stress of fluid supplemented with key components of ascites or patient-derived ascites, and biomimetic ECMs mimicking either early-stage basement membrane or late-stage connective tissues. We evaluated the individual and combined effects of two key ascitic components, fibronectin and TGF-{beta}, and compared these results with the perfusion of patient ascites. Results showed that cell migration, morphology, and epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) markers such as the reorganization of vimentin cytoskeleton depend strongly on ECM composition, regardless of biochemical cues. Fibronectin and TGF-{beta} synergistically enhanced migration and EMT signatures, especially on basement membrane-rich ECM. Patient ascites further promoted migration but did not override ECM-driven migration patterns. Our findings show that clinical ascites perfusion exemplifies the ECM-dependence of cancer cell migration. This highlights that ECM protein composition is a dominant regulator of OC cell migration, providing key insights for in vitro tumor modeling and therapeutic strategies targeting the metastatic microenvironment.

cancer biology↗

bioRxiv2025

Cranial suture integrity is maintained by Fgfr3 in zebrafish

Cranial suture formation is a dynamic process requiring precise cellular and molecular coordination to regulate bone growth and suture homeostasis. Despite the recognized role of Fibroblast Growth Factor Receptor 3 (FGFR3) in this process and its association with Muenke syndrome, one of the most common syndromic craniosynostoses, its precise function remains undefined. Through analyses of cranial suture formation and maintenance in a fgfr3 LoF zebrafish model displaying abnormal suture morphology, we demonstrate for the first time that Fgfr3 plays a pleiotropic role during these events. Transmission electron microscopy and second harmonic generation imaging revealed that Fgfr3 is involved in the proper organization of the collagen network within the suture. By employing specific transgenic reporter lines and studying gene expression of suture mesenchymal stem cell markers via RNAscope in situ hybridization, we show that Fgfr3 is crucial for regulating osteogenesis within the suture. Specifically, Fgfr3 limits the number of osteoprogenitors at the osteogenic front and promotes osteoblast maturation at the suture edge. Finally, our results reveal that Fgfr3-mediated regulation of osteogenesis involves cross-talk between FGF, canonical Wnt, and potentially BMP signaling pathways. In conclusion, these data position Fgfr3 as a central regulator of cranial suture formation and open new perspectives for understanding suture homeostasis and FGFR3-related craniosynostoses.

developmental biology↗

bioRxiv2023

The balance between shear flow and extracellular matrix in ovarian cancer-on-chip

Ovarian cancer is the most lethal gynecologic cancer in developed countries. Silent onset of the metastatic activity of ovarian tumor cells is factor for poor outcomes. In the tumor microenvironment, the extracellular matrix (ECM) and flow shear stress are known to play key roles in directing cell invasion. Hence, acute and tunable tools are critical to mimic scaffold and fluid for building clinically relevant in vitro models. We have built an ovarian tumor-on-chip where tunable ECM models are easily seeded with tumor spheroids and integrated within a microfluidic chip. This allows the investigation of the crosstalk between the characteristics of the ECM models and shear stress on the migratory behavior and cellular heterogeneity of ovarian tumor cells. We vary the composition of the ECM playing with type I and IV collagens and laminin, and control the shear stress in the chip. This work shows that in the shear stress regime of the peritoneal cavity, the ECM plays a major role in driving individual or collective modes of migration. In the presence of basement membrane proteins, migration is more collective that on type I collagen regardless of shear stress level. In addition, with increasing shear stress, individual cell migration was enhanced, while no significant impact on collective migration could be measured. This highlights our ability to discriminate relevant parameters for onset and shifts of cell behavior using our in vitro models. Furthermore, we described the ability to shift cells from an epithelial phenotype to a more mesenchymal phenotype, which could allow us to describe the role of these parameters during epithelial-to-mesenchymal (EMT) transition as a continuous process. Finally, we conclude that the ECM should hold a central position in in vitro cancer models, to understand cell response and develop platforms for therapeutic development.

bioengineering↗

bioRxiv2019

Electrospinning of pure, native, cross-linker free self-supported collagen membrane

Electrospinning (ES) is an extremely promising method for the preparation of self-supported membranes for tissue engineering by mimicking the 3D fibrillar structure of the extracellular matrix. Conflicting results about collagen ES in the literature concern the conditions of collagen solubilization to improve electrospinnability, and the use of co-polymers and chemical cross-linkers to stabilize the structure of collagen membranes. Here we report for the first time (1) the ES of pure and native collagen into a self-supported membrane in absence of polymer support and (2) the preservation of the membrane integrity in hydrated media in absence of crosslinker. We use a multiscale approach to characterize collagen native structure at the molecular level using synchrotron radiation circular dichroism, and to investigate collagen hierarchical organization within the self-supported membrane using electron and multiphoton microscopies. Finally, we show that the membranes are perfectly suited for cell adhesion and spreading, making very promising candidates for the development of advanced biomaterials.

bioengineering↗