gasser demonstrated how cells are tuned to different substrate
stiffness optima and that all parameter must kept in a balance.
After the exiting and interesting discussions at the lunch break,
we started with the talk of Rudolf Leube about the contribution
of keratin dynamics on cell adhesion in epithelial cells (Figure 2).
He presented C. elegans as model for the in vivo monitoring of
keratin dynamics and properties. The next speaker was Roger
D. Kamm, who talked about microfluidic models for metastatic
processes, where the transendothelial migration of cancer cells
can be analyzed. This assay was extended to a multi-culture
model including fibroblasts, endothelial cells and cancer cells.
Then, Melody A. Swartz took over to present as her latest data
on the lymphatic system and its role in cancer disease, where
the lymph flow is increased in primary tumors. In more detail,
she talked about cancer-associated fibroblasts that are activa-
ted by the flow and thus stiffen the stromal environment of a
tumor. After her, Franziska Lautenschläger presented the results
of cell migration in non-confined and confined environments,
discussed the effect of crowding and presented us an internatio-
nal “cell race” experiment. Jürgen Behrens lectured on the basics
of Wnt pathway signaling and presented his latest results on the
influence of conductin on the mitotic spindle and centrosome
splitting. Furthermore, he talked about negative regulators of
beta-catenin, which he identified in a yeast two-hybrid screen.
The last talk of the day was given by Matthias Rief, in which he
presented how filamin interacts with the membrane, when high
forces were applied. Additionally, he showed how he used the
optical trap method to determine the opening force of filamins,
which can serve as a switching mechanism for force sensing.
Roger Kamm wrote the following about the social event at the
Gewandhaus:
The concert at the Gewandhaus (a concert hall no-
ted for it's beauty, but above all, the excellent acoustic), was one of
the many high points of this exciting conference. We were treat-
ed to a remarkable concert of music by Schumann (a composer
with numerous close connections with Leipzig) and Beethoven.
The orchestra was conducted by Kurt Masur, a masterful conduc-
tor who, at the age of 86, has a long and intimate association
with Leipzig and with the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra. It was
truly a unique and moving experience, enjoyed by everybody who
had joined.
27th September (Friday)
The last day of the meeting started with the presentation of
Marija Plodinec. She talked about “stiff” tumors and “soft” can-
cer cells. In particular she presented an atomic force microscope
based tissue diagnostic tool to generate stiffness maps of cancer
tissue. In additional, she pointed out that cancer cell softness is
correlated with hypoxia and that these cells are able to metasta-
size. Gemma Lancaster gave a talk about laser doppler to measu-
re neurogenic and myogenic activity directly to identify unique
signatures of melanoma in blood flow. Jing Guo presented high-
resolution magnetic resonance elastography of the human brain
that serves as a great tool to determine the mechanical proper-
ties of glioblastomas.
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