Dr. Marc Ferrer Profile

Dr. Marc Ferrer

at National Institutes of Health

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Publications (3)

SPIE Journal Paper | 18 September 2024 Open Access

Dual optical elastography detects TGF-β-induced alterations in the biomechanical properties of skin scaffolds

Taye T. Mekonnen, Yogeshwari S. Ambekar, Christian Zevallos-Delgado, Achuth Nair, Fernando Zvietcovich, Hoda Zarkoob, Manmohan Singh, Yi Wei Lim, Marc Ferrer, Salavat R. Aglyamov, Giuliano Scarcelli, Min Jae Song, Kirill V. Larin

JBO, Vol. 29, Issue 09, 095002, (September 2024) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.10.1117/1.JBO.29.9.095002

KEYWORDS: Skin, Tissues, Elastography, Biomechanics, Microscopy, Tissue optics, Elasticity, Collagen, Optical coherence tomography, Wave propagation

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SignificanceThe skin’s mechanical properties are tightly regulated. Various pathologies can affect skin stiffness, and understanding these changes is a focus in tissue engineering. Ex vivo skin scaffolds are a robust platform for evaluating the effects of various genetic and molecular interactions on the skin. Transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-β) is a critical signaling molecule in the skin that can regulate the amount of collagen and elastin in the skin and, consequently, its mechanical properties.AimThis study investigates the biomechanical properties of bio-engineered skin scaffolds, focusing on the influence of TGF-β, a signaling molecule with diverse cellular functions.ApproachThe TGF-β receptor I inhibitor, galunisertib, was employed to assess the mechanical changes resulting from dysregulation of TGF-β. Skin scaffold samples, grouped into three categories (control, TGF-β-treated, and TGF-β + galunisertib-treated), were prepared in two distinct culture media—one with aprotinin (AP) and another without. Two optical elastography techniques, namely wave-based optical coherence elastography (OCE) and Brillouin microscopy, were utilized to quantify the biomechanical properties of the tissues.ResultsResults showed significantly higher wave speed (with AP, p<0.001; without AP, p<0.001) and Brillouin frequency shift (with AP, p<0.001; without AP, p=0.01) in TGF-β-treated group compared with the control group. The difference in wave speed between the control and TGF-β + galunisertib with (p=0.10) and without AP (p=0.36) was not significant. Moreover, the TGF-β + galunisertib-treated group exhibited lower wave speed without and with AP and reduced Brillouin frequency shift than the TGF-β-treated group without AP, further strengthening the potential role of TGF-β in regulating the mechanical properties of the samples.ConclusionsThese findings offer valuable insights into TGF-β-induced biomechanical alterations in bio-engineered skin scaffolds, highlighting the potential of OCE and Brillouin microscopy in the development of targeted therapies in conditions involving abnormal tissue remodeling and fibrosis.

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Proceedings Article | 9 March 2020 Presentation

Imaging biomarkers quantify therapeutic effect in 3D-printed skin cancer constructs (Conference Presentation)

Daniel Gareau, James Browning, Marc Ferrer, John Carucci, Samantha Lish

Proceedings Volume 11243, 112431G (2020) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2550832

KEYWORDS: Skin cancer, Tissues, Animal testing, Tumors, Molecules, 3D image processing, Skin, Confocal microscopy, Multimodal imaging, Cancer

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Proceedings Article | 13 March 2019 Presentation

High-throughput optical coherence tomography (HT-OCT) imaging of tumor spheroids for drug screening (Conference Presentation)

Yongyang Huang, Jinyun Zou, Junchao Liu, Natalia Martinez, Keren Luo, Zhao Dong, Molly Boutin, Yuchi Chen, Marc Ferrer, Chao Zhou

Proceedings Volume 10867, 1086713 (2019) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2511535

KEYWORDS: Coherence imaging, Optical coherence tomography, Tumors, 3D modeling, Pathology, Stereoscopy, 3D acquisition, Cancer, Tumor growth modeling, Skin

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