Nontoxic, low surface free energy silicone coatings having reduced biofouling adhesion strength have been developed as an alternative to antifouling paints. Silicone coatings permit macrofouling to adhere; however, fouling can be removed easily by water pressure or light scrubbing. One of the current methods used to evaluate the performance of non-toxic silicone foulingrelease coatings relies h...

Macrophage clearance is essential for the resolution of inflammation. Much is known about how monocytes enter the inflammatory site but little is known about how resultant macro-phages are cleared. We have previously demonstrated that macrophage clearance from resolving peritonitis occurs by emigration into draining lymphatics rather than local apoptosis. We now examine mechanisms for this proc...

The role of the novel transcription factor ZBED6 for the adhesion/clustering of insulin-producing mouse MIN6 and βTC6 cells was investigated. Zbed6-silencing in the insulin producing cells resulted in increased three-dimensional cell-cell clustering and decreased adhesion to mouse laminin and human laminin 511. This was paralleled by a weaker focal adhesion kinase phosphorylation at laminin bin...

Metastatic spread is the leading cause for cancer-related mortality, with the lungs being a major site for metastatic seeding. Available therapies for patients with metastatic disease are extremely limited. Therefore, there is a desperate need for new strategies to prevent or limit metastatic dissemination and treat existing metastases. The metastatic cascade is highly complex and is affected b...

The glycoprotein (GP) Ib-V-IX complex plays a critical role in initiating platelet adhesion to von Willebrand factor (vWF) at the site of vascular injury. The complex also forms a high-affinity binding site for thrombin. Using an intravital microscopy mouse model, it was previously established that vWF plays a critical role in mediating platelet adhesion and thrombus formation following mesente...

To gain insights into the functional role of the molecular association between neural adhesion molecules and extracellular matrix constituents, soluble forms of the myelin-associated glycoprotein (MAG) and the neural cell adhesion molecule (N-CAM), representing most of the extracellular domains of the molecules, were investigated in their ability to modify fibrillogenesis of collagen type I. MA...

AF6 is a human multi-domain protein involved in signaling and organization of cell junctions during embryogenesis. Its homologue in rat is called afadin. Three different AF6 transcripts are known, but only isoform 1 (AF6i1) has been characterized as protein. We focused on the AF6 isoform 3 (AF6i3), which differs from the AF6i1 by an additional C-terminal F-actin-binding site. Knockdown of AF6i3...

Cells adhere to the substratum through specialized structures that are linked to the actin cytoskeleton. Recent studies report that adhesion also involves the intermediate filament (IF) and microtubule cytoskeletons, although their mechanisms of interaction are unknown. Here we report evidence for a novel adhesion-dependent interaction between components of the actin and IF cytoskeletons. In bi...

CR3 (Mac-1; alphaMbeta2 integrin) functions as both a receptor for the opsonic iC3b fragment of C3 triggering phagocytosis or cytotoxicity and an adhesion molecule mediating leukocyte diapedesis. Recent reports have suggested that a CR3 lectin site may be required for both cytotoxic responses and adhesion. Cytotoxic responses require dual recognition of iC3b via the I domain of CD11b and specif...

The aim of this investigation was to identify domains of collagen type I that can support platelet adhesion under flow conditions. Four cyanogen bromide (CB) fragments composing 87% of the collagen alpha 1(I)-chain were studied under static and flow conditions. Under static conditions, bovine and human collagen fragment alpha 1(I)CB3 induced aggregate formation, whereas alpha 1(I)CB7 and alpha ...