Serini Lab

In a cohort of 1000+ patients with breast cancer,

Emilio Hirsch & team identify SH3BP5L as the most highly expressed guanine nucleotide exchange factor for RAB11A, and its inhibition lowers lung metastasis & cell spreading in triple negative breast cancer models: doi.org/10.1172/JCI1...

We’re excited to share our latest preprint! We identify SKT, a mechanosensitive adhesion protein that recruits mTORC2 to cell–matrix adhesions, linking metabolic demand to matrix stiffness. Disrupting this axis strongly inhibits PDAC tumor growth. shorturl.at/V0tpK

@mathildemathieu.bsky.social @ivaskalab.bsky.social New discovery from us! Leupaxin, a paxillin family member typically expressed in immune cells, negatively regulates durotaxis and mechanoresponsiveness in metastatic breast cancer cell variants and in cells cultured on soft ECM lnkd.in/diEk8DSR

Cell-matrix mechanosensing and cellular metabolic demand are linked through SKT and mTORC2 https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.02.03.702586v1

Cell membranes sustain phospholipid imbalance via cholesterol asymmetry This work challenges a major assumption in cell biology by showing that lipid bilayers can have drastically different phospholipid abundances between their two leaflets. This lipid abundance asymmetry...

interesting read😯
www.cell.com/cell/abstrac...

Platelet-derived integrin- and tetraspanin-enriched tethers exacerbate severe inflammation Platelet integrin αIIbβ3 is essential for hemostasis, thrombosis, and inflammation. We found that ligation of αIIbβ3 by von Willebrand factor or fibrin under flow triggered its accumulation in plasma ...

This week #JournalClub @labsoap.bsky.social @nature.com #integrin #tetraspanin #migration www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

A new study uncovers an anti-resonance effect in Wnt signalling, where pathway activity is suppressed at specific signal frequencies. Using optogenetics and modelling, the work shows how signal timing shapes cell fate decisions.

🔗 buff.ly/cen8MpD

Do you want to know more about how Retromer regulates Rab7 activity in yeast? Of course you do. Check out the new collaboration with Andreas Mayer with work led by Catarina Alves and Kevin Chen.

In situ multi-modal characterization of pancreatic cancer reveals tumor cell identity as a defining factor of the surrounding microenvironment Lyubetskaya et al. create a spatial map of untreated primary pancreatic cancer through integration of spatial gene expression profiling, histology characterization, pathology annotation, and machine vision. The map reveals the spectrum of benign, neoplastic, and classical-to-basal tumor cells present within every patient, uncovering their unique regulators and microenvironments.

In situ multi-modal characterization of pancreatic cancer reveals tumor cell identity as a defining factor of the surrounding microenvironment

Why can axolotls regrow limbs, but humans can’t?

New work shows regeneration depends on cells from all sides of the limb coordinating their positional memories.

🔗 buff.ly/IPRgJYI

FAK Inhibition Remodels the Metastatic ECM and Restores CD8+ T Cell Trafficking and Immunosurveillance https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.01.21.700837v1

CELL MIGRATION LAB We study cell migration in health and disease

🚨 We are hiring TWO postdocs to join the Cell Migration Lab (cellmig.org) 🇫🇮 as part of the new Centre of Excellence in Immune–Endothelial Interfaces (IMMENs).
Join us to decode immune regulation & develop next-gen imaging tools! 🧪🔬
Details in thread 🧵👇
#ScienceSky #Postdoc #AcademicJobs Please RT🫶

Mark your calendars, the Signaling by Adhesion Receptors GRC is June 7 - 12, 2026. We have a terrific program that balances developmental biology, cell polarity, and adhesion and signaling.

Please spread the word!

www.grc.org/signaling-by...

📱Is the origin of animals comparable to the origin of the smartphones? Yes! See our new review in @embojournal.org where we show how important it was the new "Operating System" (animalOS)for animals to evolve! with @ricardsole.bsky.social, Nick and Elena @ibe-barcelona.bsky.social @csic.es @prbb.org

Excited to share our new preprint! and the surprising finding that the second integrin-binding site (IBS2) does not bind integrin.

IBS2 can be better explained as talin-talin interactions mediated via a cryptic talin-binding site in R11.

We also show a new role for vinculin as a mechano-chaperone

KANK2 at focal adhesion regulates their maintenance and dynamics, while at fibrillar adhesions it influences cell migration via microtubule-dependent mechanism - preLights KANK2 plays a dual role – dictating cells when to move and when to stick!

KANK2 plays a dual role – dictating cells when to move and when to stick!

@vibhasingh.bsky.social covers recent work from Nikolina Stojanović & colleagues – includes a lovely discussion with the author team.

#preLight ⬇️
prelights.biologists.com/highlights/k...

Ex Vivo Assay for Organ-Specific Cancer Cell Invasion Metastasis is the leading cause of cancer-related mortality, yet experimental models inadequately recapitulate the tissue-specific microenvironments that shape metastatic dissemination. In vivo system...

Looking for an easy-to-use yet physiologically relevant system to study cancer cell invasion? In our new preprint we use decellularized mouse tissues to model organ-specific invasion, preserving native ECM properties and recapitulating metastatic organotropism!

www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

Cellular and molecular aspects of mechanobiology of the extracellular matrix

🧪Our special issue "𝐂𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐌𝐨𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐫 𝐀𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐌𝐞𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐛𝐢𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐄𝐱𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐫 𝐌𝐚𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐱" (Curr Opin Biomed Eng, Vol.37 Mar 2026) is out 🎉

🔬Thanks to all authors, may this spark cross‑disciplinary collaboration!
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
#Mechanobiology #ECMatrix #Biomaterials

Fast label-free live imaging with FlowVision reveals key principles of cancer cell arrest on endothelial monolayers - The EMBO Journal The rapid, transient, and unpredictable nature of interactions between circulating cells and the endothelium challenges the investigation of these events under flow conditions. Here, we developed an i...

FlowVision:
@guijacquemet.bsky.social @johannaivaska.bsky.social et al describe a fast label-free live imaging approach revealing key principles of cancer cell arrest on endothelial monolayers–such as flow dynamics & CD44 interaction with matrix hyaluronic acid
link.springer.com/article/10.1...

FAK modulates glioblastoma stem cell energetics via regulation of glycolysis and glutamine oxidation Summary: The key adhesion protein focal adhesion kinase (FAK) transduces adhesion signals to enhance glycolysis and oxidative phosphorylation in a glioblastoma stem-cell model, highlighting a…

Roza Masalmeh, @margaretframe.bsky.social & co uncover a FAK–ROCK-driven mechanism that links #ExtracellularMatrix mechanical cues to the rewiring of energy #metabolism, affecting mitochondrial function and malignant behaviour.
#mitochondria #cancer

Read doi.org/10.1242/dmm....

Talin force coupling underlies eukaryotic cell-substrate adhesion - Nature Communications Talin is a well-known regulator of cell adhesion and intracellular force transmission in animals. Here, the authors demonstrate that talin’s mechanical function is evolutionarily conserved and already established in unicellular eukaryotes.

Talin didn’t evolve for integrins... integrins evolved for talin 🤯

pN force coupling via talin is ancient, conserved from amoebae to humans; signaling came later.

Read this amazing paper here 👇🏽

www.nature.com/articles/s41...

We are very happy to share our latest work exploring the role of newly synthetized integrin-α5 using RUSH. We found that a subset goes to the PM via unconventional secretion! Big thanks to all involved! Read more at doi.org/10.1083/jcb.... @mathildemathieu.bsky.social @martina-lerche.bsky.social

Xingchen Li, Christoph Ballestrem, et al. @mcrcellmatrix.bsky.social show that multidomain interactions between talin and tensin3 regulate #integrin activity, fibrillar #adhesion formation, #fibronectin assembly, and mechanosensitive tensin3 phase separation. rupress.org/jcb/article/...

Mechanosensitive calcium channels and integrins coordinate the reprogramming of colorectal cancer cells into a fetal-like state van der Net et al. show that mechanical interactions with the stromal component collagen I trigger reprogramming of colorectal cancer cells into a fetal-like state, through mechanosensitive integrins ...

We finally made it over here ! And excited to share our new paper on mechanical forces regulating stem cell plasticity in colorectal cancer, involving force transduction via mechanosensitive calcium channels! www.cell.com/cell-reports...

Congratulations to Drs. Mary Brunkow, Fred Ramsdell, and Shimon Sakaguchi, recipients of the 2025 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. Brunkow and Ramsdell—cell biologists by training—prove once again: it’s all about the cell.

Mechanochemical waves in focal adhesions during cell migration Traction force and FAK signaling exhibit oscillatory temporal coupling in adhesive structures.

Garcia Lab did it again! Such a fantastic read if you are interested in FAs mechanics and biology. Congratulations to @garcialabgt.bsky.social

Our paper is on the cover of @cp-devcell.bsky.social . Image: embryonic murine salivary-gland explants stained for fate determinants; p63 (cyan) and HES1 (yellow). Thanks to everyone involved.
doi.org/10.1016/j.de...

Interested in doing exciting research on #epithelial #plasticity in the #kidney or #intestine?

Then please check out our recent job ads for #PhD and #Postdoc positions!

www.nature.com/naturecareer...
www.nature.com/naturecareer...
www.nature.com/naturecareer...
www.nature.com/naturecareer...

Challenges and opportunities for the next generation of computational tumor models Mathematical models have become essential tools for exploring the complex interplay between cancer cells and their microenvironment, but require multidisciplinary expertise and abundant biological dat...

Mathematical models are essential tools for exploring the complex interplay between #cancer cells and their environment, but require expertise and abundant data to develop. Lance Munn & Rakesh Jain suggest that #AI is leading the way towards the next wave of tumor models 🧪 plos.io/4ofREUk

New in @jcellsci.bsky.social, Cancer Center member Alexandra Naba, PhD co-develops MatriCom, a web app + R package to decode cell–ECM communication from single-cell RNA-Seq data. Funded by the NIH and the NCI.

#CancerResearch #CanSky

Read more here: bit.ly/4m9aUS3