bims-migras 2026-07-05 papers

Issue of 2026–07–05
three papers selected by
Cliff Dominy

Funct Integr Genomics. 2026 Jul 01. pii: 171. [Epub ahead of print]26(1):

A hypoxia-responsive migrasome-related lncRNA signature predicts prognosis and suggests the MSC-AS1/ITGA5 axis as a potential therapeutic target in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.

Sai Liang, Xin Lin, Fubo Wang, Ming Yang, Gang Qin.

Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) is an aggressive malignancy associated with dismal prognosis. Migrasomes, a unique class of migration-dependent extracellular vesicles, have emerged as pivotal mediators of intercellular crosstalk within the tumor microenvironment. However, the clinical implications and regulatory mechanisms of migrasome-related long non-coding RNAs (MRLs) in HNSCC remain largely unexplored. Herein, we retrieved transcriptomic and clinical data of HNSCC from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and established a prognostic signature using LASSO-Cox regression analysis, which was further internally validated in a randomly split subset of the TCGA cohort as internal validation. We systematically characterized the immune microenvironment and drug sensitivity profiles stratified by this signature, and identified the cellular distribution of core MRLs via single-cell RNA sequencing. Functional experiments were performed in clinical specimens and HNSCC cell lines using RT-qPCR, Western blot, CCK-8, and wound-healing assays. Consequently, a 10-MRL prognostic model was constructed to effectively stratify patients into high- and low-risk groups with significantly divergent overall survival, representing an independent prognostic factor in the context of the available clinical covariates from TCGA. High-risk patients exhibited an immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment and activation of oncogenic pathways (NF-κB, JAK-STAT). Mechanistically, MSC-AS1 was upregulated in HNSCC and facilitated cell proliferation and migration. Hypoxia upregulated the MSC-AS1/ITGA5 axis and increased VEGFA/PD-L1 expression, along with changes in the migrasome-related protein TSPAN4, suggesting a potential association with migrasome-related molecular features, which requires direct experimental validation. Collectively, our findings establish a novel MRL-based signature for prognostic prediction in HNSCC and highlight the hypoxia-responsive MSC-AS1/ITGA5 axis as a promising target for combinatorial therapeutic strategies.

Keywords: Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma; Immune microenvironment; Long noncoding RNA; MSC-AS1; Migrasome; Prognostic model

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10142-026-01956-3

Curr Opin Cell Biol. 2026 Jun 29. pii: S0955-0674(26)00057-8. [Epub ahead of print]101 102669

Emerging role of organelles in cell migration.

Rituraj Marwaha, Tamal Das.

Cell migration is a fundamental biological process essential for development, tissue repair, and cancer metastasis. While cytoskeletal dynamics, adhesion turnover, and biochemical signalling are known regulators of migration, intracellular organelles have traditionally been regarded as passive components. Emerging evidence now reveals that organelles actively reorganize and polarize during migration, undergoing spatial and functional specialization to coordinate force generation, adhesion dynamics, metabolic support, and mechanochemical signalling. In this review, we discuss recent advances highlighting how endo-lysosomes, the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), mitochondria, the Golgi apparatus, and migrasomes regulate cell migration. We synthesize emerging principles, identify common mechanistic themes, and outline key open questions that will guide future investigations into how organelles govern cell motility across physiological and pathological contexts.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ceb.2026.102669

J Nanobiotechnology. 2026 Jun 28.

Dissolvable antimicrobial microneedles loaded with bone marrow mesenchymal stem cell-derived migrasomes for diabetes wound treatment.

Renshengjie Zhao, Shichao Chen, Linsa Zhou, Jin Huang, Xuemin Ma, Tong Li, Shiting Li, Xiaorong Lan, Guangwen Li.

In clinical settings, diabetic wounds present persistent challenges to spontaneous healing, primarily due to excessive inflammatory responses, impaired vascular perfusion, elevated levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS), and increased susceptibility to infection. In this context, transplantation of bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) has shown promising results in enhancing wound healing. Emerging evidence suggests that this therapeutic benefit is closely linked to the extracellular vesicles (EVs) secreted by BMSCs. Among the newly identified EV subtypes, migrasomes (Migs) have recently demonstrated significant roles in embryonic development, immune modulation, and tissue regeneration. Nevertheless, the specific biological functions and underlying molecular mechanisms of Migs under diabetic pathophysiological conditions remain largely unexplored. Previous studies have preliminarily revealed that BMSCs-Migs are capable of chemotactically recruiting ECs and BMSCs, as well as promoting anti-inflammatory macrophage polarization. However, achieving sustained release of these bioactive components at precise dermal depths to maximize their therapeutic effect remains a major obstacle. To address this issue, an innovative antimicrobial microneedle system (MNs@Mig) has been developed for transdermal, controlled delivery of BMSCs-Migs for diabetic wound therapy. This microneedle platform exhibits sufficient mechanical strength for effective skin penetration and enables prolonged release of therapeutic agents. The incorporation of Migs endows MNs@Mig with multifunctional properties tailored for the treatment of chronic diabetic wounds. By preventing bacterial colonization, recruiting various reparative cells, enhancing angiogenesis, reducing ROS accumulation, and modulating macrophage polarization, MNs@Mig facilitates accelerated, efficient, and high-quality wound repair. These findings underscore the potential of MNs@Mig as a multi-targeted and highly promising therapeutic strategy for diabetic wound management.

Keywords: BMSCs; diabetic wounds; microneedles; migrasomes

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12951-026-04746-y