The (Extracellular) Matrix Reloaded: Imaging Matrix Metalloproteinase Activity

Matrix reloaded: the matrix metalloproteinase paradox.

Chronic hypertension leads to adaptive processes in the heart, called remodeling, which are characterized by hypertrophic changes of cardiomyocytes and by structural alterations of the extracellular matrix. Although these processes are initially compensatory and preserve cardiac contractile performance, they finally lead to left ventricular (LV) dilatation and heart failure. Thus, factors playi...

Extracellular matrix metalloproteinase inducer regulates matrix metalloproteinase activity in cardiovascular cells: implications in acute myocardial infarction.

BACKGROUND Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) are thought to promote progression of atherosclerosis and cardiovascular complications such as plaque rupture. It has been suggested that, on tumor cells, the extracellular MMP inducer (EMMPRIN) is involved in MMP synthesis by as yet unknown mechanisms. On cardiovascular cells, regulation of EMMPRIN in vivo or any functional relevance for MMP inductio...

The mineralized extracellular "matrix" reloaded: a tissue engineering perspective.

The Matrix Reloaded: How Sensing the Extracellular Matrix Synchronizes Bacterial Communities

In response to chemical communication, bacterial cells often organize themselves into complex multicellular communities that carry out specialized tasks. These communities are frequently referred to as biofilms, which involve the collective behavior of different cell types. Like cells of multicellular eukaryotes, the biofilm cells are surrounded by self-produced polymers that constitute the ext...

Akt1 induces extracellular matrix invasion and matrix metalloproteinase-2 activity in mouse mammary epithelial cells.

The roles of the protein-serine/threonine kinase, Akt1, in signaling pathways associated with cell motility and extracellular matrix invasion were examined in the immortalized mouse mammary epithelial cell line, COMMA-1D. COMMA-1D cells were engineered to express the avian leukosis subtype A receptor, tv-a, to permit infection by recombinant avian leukosis virus produced by the replication-comp...