The adhesion and motility of tumor cells on basement membranes is a central consideration in tumor cell invasion and metastasis. Basement membrane type IV collagen directly promotes the adhesion and migration of various tumor cell types in vitro. Our previous studies demonstrated that tumor cells adhered and spread on surfaces coated with intact type IV collagen or either of the two major enzym...

Gel-filtration chromatography of culture medium from rabbit bone explants separates three latent metalloproteinases with activities against collagen, proteoglycan and gelatin respectively. The fractions degrading proteoglycan also degrade laminin, fibronectin and the polymeric products of pepsin-solubilized type IV collagen and can also solubilize insoluble type IV collagen. The fractions degra...

The noncollagenous domain hexamer of collagen IV from bovine glomerular basement membrane was further investigated to determine the types of collagen chain from which subunits M2*b and M3 are derived. M2*b was shown to be a shorter form, containing 9 fewer residues, of M2*a which was previously established as the noncollagenous domain of a third chain, a3, of collagen IV (Saus, J., Wieslander, ...

Our initial observation that type I collagen activates polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMN) prompted the testing of the activating potential of type IV collagen. It was noted, however, that type IV collagen isolated from bovine lens capsule did not activate PMN but rather prevented their stimulation by N-formylmethionyl-leucyl-phenylalanine, phorbol myristate acetate, or type I collagen. This obs...

We have previously shown that estradiol suppresses types I and IV collagen synthesis by mesangial cells grown in the presence of serum. In the present study, we examined the interaction between estradiol and transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) on collagen IV synthesis. In a luciferase reporter gene construct containing the type IV collagen promoter and α1-chain regulatory sequences, we found t...

Retinal vessels from freshly enucleated human eyes were classified into three stages of the hyalinisation process. The distribution of collagen types I-VI within the vessel walls was studied ultrastructurally by immunogold labelling combined with the tissue preparation techniques of cryoultramicrotomy and London resin white embedding. Collagen types I, III, IV, V, and VI were found in large ves...

INTRODUCTION Extracellular matrix proteins play a crucial role in influencing the invasion of trophoblast cells. However the role of collagens and collagen type IV (col-IV) in particular at the implantation site is not clear. METHODS Immunohistochemistry was used to determine the distribution of collagen types I, III, IV and VI in endometrium and decidua during the menstrual cycle and the fir...

Podocyte-derived vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is upregulated in diabetes and may contribute to albuminuria. Although believed to act upon the glomerular endothelium, VEGF may have pronounced effects on the podocyte itself. The functionality of this VEGF autocrine loop was investigated in conditionally immortalized mouse podocytes. Exogenous VEGF(164) increased the production of alp...

Keratinized mucosa is of fundamental importance to maintain healthy gingival tissue, and understanding the mechanisms of oral mucosa keratinization is crucial to successfully manage healthy gingiva. Previous studies have shown a strong involvement of the basement membrane in the proliferation and differentiation of epithelial cells. Therefore, first, to identify the keratinized mucosa-specific ...