Biology subjects

Hauck, N.

Publications and source records attributed to Hauck, N..

5 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2026

Peptide screening enables optimised biofunctional hydrogels for cultivated meat tissue engineering

Cultivated meat is an emerging biotechnology that aims to produce edible tissues in an ethical and sustainable manner. However, the recreation of skeletal muscle tissue that replicates the protein composition and sensory characteristics of traditional meat is a major challenge. Skeletal muscle tissue engineering requires non-animal-based scaffolds which are inexpensive and food-safe, while meeting specific mechanical requirements with respect to viscosity, stress-relaxation and stiffness. While many of these characteristics can be fulfilled by alginate-based biomaterials, a key limitation of alginate is its lack of intrinsic attachment sites for animal cells, preventing efficient adhesion, differentiation and tissue formation. Here, we established a screening platform to evaluate extracellular matrix (ECM)-mimicking peptides as functionalisations of alginate scaffolds in 2D. Our platform enables high-throughput assessment of cell/peptide interactions, serving as a predictive tool for 3D tissue constructs. Our screen identified two RGD-containing sequences (vitronectin- and fibronectin-mimicking peptides) as most effective in promoting attachment and myogenic fusion of bovine satellite cells. Notably, these peptides outperformed more complex mixtures containing up to seven different ECM-mimicking peptides. Our findings provide a streamlined approach for optimising biomaterial functionalisations for cultivated meat applications, and lay the groundwork for future advancements in scalable, sustainable skeletal muscle tissue engineering.

bioengineering↗

bioRxiv2023

Short-stranded zein fibers for muscle tissue engineering in alginate-based hydrogels

Cultivated meat is a nascent technology that aims to produce an environmentally and animal-friendly alternative to conventional meat. Producing skeletal muscle tissue in an animal-free system allowing for high levels of myofusion and maturation is important for the nutritional and sensorial value of cultivated meat. Alginate is an attractive biomaterial to support muscle formation as it is food-safe, sustainable, cheap, and can be cross-linked using non-toxic methods. Although alginate can be functionalized to promote cell attachment, limitations in its mechanical properties, including form, viscosity and stress relaxation, hinder cellular capacity for myogenic differentiation and maturation in alginate-based hydrogels. Here, we show that the addition of electrospun short-stranded zein fibers increased hydrogel degradation, resulting in faster compaction, improved cell-gel interaction and enhanced alignment of bovine muscle precursor cells. We conclude that fiber-hydrogel composites are a promising approach to support optimal formation of 3D constructs, by improving tissue stability and thus prolonging culture duration. Together, this improves muscle-related protein content by facilitating myogenic differentiation and priming muscle organoids for maturation.

bioengineering↗

bioRxiv2021

The hippocampus shows an own-age bias during unfamiliar face viewing

The present study investigated the neural correlates of the own-age bias for face recognition in a repetition suppression paradigm. Healthy young and older adults viewed upright and inverted unfamiliar faces. Some of the upright faces were repeated following one of two delays (lag 0 or lag 11). Repetition suppression effects were observed in bilateral fusiform cortex. However, there were no significant effects indicating an own-age bias in repetition suppression. The absence of these effects is arguably inconsistent with perceptual expertise accounts of own-age biases in face processing. By contrast, the right anterior hippocampus showed an own-age bias (greater activity for own-than other-age faces) when viewing an unfamiliar face for the first time. Given the importance of the hippocampus for episodic memory encoding, we conjecture that the increased hippocampal activity for own-age relative to other-age faces reflects differential engagement of neural processes supporting the episodic encoding of faces and might provide insight into the neural underpinnings of own-age biases in face recognition memory.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2018

The relationship between age, neural differentiation, and memory performance

Healthy aging is associated with decreased neural selectivity (dedifferentiation) in category-selective cortical regions. This finding has prompted the suggestion that dedifferentiation contributes to age-related cognitive decline. Consistent with this possibility, dedifferentiation has been reported to negatively correlate with fluid intelligence in older adults. Here, we examined whether dedifferentiation is associated with performance in another cognitive domain - episodic memory - that is also highly vulnerable to aging. Given the proposed role of differentiation in age-related cognitive decline, we predicted there would be a stronger link between dedifferentiation and episodic memory performance in older than in younger adults. Young (18-30 yrs) and older (64-75 yrs) male and female humans underwent fMRI scanning while viewing images of objects and scenes prior to a subsequent recognition memory test. We computed a differentiation index in two regions-of-interest (ROIs): parahippocampal place area (PPA) and lateral occipital complex (LOC). This index quantified the selectivity of the BOLD response to an ROIs preferred versus non-preferred category (scenes for PPA, objects for LOC). The differentiation index in the PPA, but not the LOC, was lower in older than in younger adults. Additionally, the PPA differentiation index predicted recognition memory performance for the studied items. This relationship was independent of and not moderated by age. The PPA differentiation index also predicted performance on a latent fluency factor derived from a neuropsychological test battery; this relationship was also age invariant. These findings suggest that two independent factors, one associated with age, and the other with cognitive performance, drive neural differentiation.\n\nSignificance StatementAging is associated with neural dedifferentiation - reduced neural selectivity in category selective cortical brain regions - which has been proposed to mediate cognitive aging. Here, we examined whether neural differentiation is predictive of episodic memory performance, and whether the relationship is moderated by age. A neural differentiation index was estimated for scene-(PPA) and object-(LOC) selective cortical regions while participants studied images for a subsequent memory test. Age related reductions were observed for the PPA, but not the LOC, differentiation index. Importantly, the PPA differentiation index demonstrated age invariant correlations with subsequent memory performance and a fluency factor derived from a neuropsychological battery. Together, these findings suggest that neural differentiation is associated with two independent factors: age and cognitive performance.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2017

Age-related differences in prestimulus subsequent memory effects assessed with event-related potentials

Prestimulus subsequent memory effects (preSMEs) - differences in neural activity elicited by a task cue at encoding that are predictive of later memory performance - are thought to reflect differential engagement of preparatory processes that benefit episodic memory encoding. We investigated age differences in preSMEs indexed by differences in ERP amplitude just prior to the onset of a study item. Young and older adults incidentally encoded words for a subsequent memory test. Each study word was preceded by a task cue that signaled the judgment to perform on the word. Words were presented for either a short (300 ms) or a long (1000 ms) duration with the aim of placing differential benefits on engaging preparatory processes initiated by the task cue. ERPs associated with subsequent successful and unsuccessful recollection, operationalized here by source memory accuracy, were estimated time-locked to the onset of the task cue. In a late time-window (1000-2000 ms following onset of the cue), young adults demonstrated frontally distributed preSMEs for both the short and the long study durations, albeit with opposite polarities in the two conditions. This finding suggests that preSMEs in young adults are sensitive to perceived task demands. Although older adults showed no evidence of preSMEs in the same late time window, significant preSMEs were observed in an earlier time window (500-1000 ms) that were invariant with study duration. These results are broadly consistent with the proposal that older adults differ from their younger counterparts in how they engage preparatory processes during memory encoding.

neuroscience↗