Understanding the organization and mechanical function of the extracellular matrix (ECM) is critical for the development of therapeutic strategies that regulate wound healing following disease or injury. However, these relationships are challenging to elucidate during remodeling following myocardial infarction (MI) due to rapid changes in cellularity and an inability to characterize both ECM mi...

Tumor angiogenesis promotes tumor growth and metastasis. Here, we use automated sequential microprinting of tumor and endothelial cells in extracellular matrix (ECM) scaffolds to study its mechanical aspects. Quantitative reflection microscopy shows that tumor spheroids induce radial orientation of the surrounding collagen fiber network up to a distance of five times their radius. Across a pane...

Muscle characteristics, and particularly fiber type frequency and collagen properties, may be a source of variation in eating meat quality. Expanded space allowance in alternative breeding systems theoretically increases animal physical activity during growth. This review deals with effects of endurance training and spontaneous exercise in large areas in- and out-doors, on muscle characteristic...

The aim of this study was to compare treatment with cultured bone marrow stromal cells (cBMSCs), bone marrow Mononucleated Cells (BMMNCs), and placebo to repair collagenase-induced tendinitis in horses. In six adult Standardbred horses, 4000 IU of collagenase were injected in the superficial digital flexor tendon (SDFT). Three weeks after collagenase treatment, an average of either 5.5 x 10(6) ...

The localization of lysyl oxidase was examined in calf and rat aortic connective tissue at the ultrastructural level using polyclonal chicken anti-lysyl oxidase and gold conjugated rabbit anti-chicken immunoglobulin G to identify immunoreactive sites. Electron microscopy of calf aortic specimens revealed discrete gold deposits at the interface between extracellular bundles of amorphous elastin ...

Freestanding fibrous matrices with proper protein composition and desirable mechanical properties, stability, and biocompatibility are in high demand for tissue engineering. Electrospun (E-spun) collagen-silk composite fibers are promising tissue engineering scaffolds. However, as-spun fibers are mechanically weak and unstable. In this work, we applied glutaraldehyde (GA) vapor treatment to imp...

A recent study (Lake et al., 2009); reported the properties of human supraspinatus tendon (SST) tested along the predominant fiber direction. The SST was found to have a relatively disperse distribution of collagen fibers, which may represent an adaptation to multiaxial loads imposed by the complex loading environment of the rotator cuff. However, the multiaxial mechanical properties of human S...

1 Purpose: The posterior sclera has a major biomechanical influence on the optic nerve 2 head, and may therefore be important in glaucoma. Scleral material properties are 3 influenced significantly by collagen fiber architecture. Here we quantitatively map fiber 4 orientation in non-glaucoma and glaucoma posterior human scleras. 5 Methods: Wide-angle x-ray scattering quantified fiber orientatio...

A slightly deformable network may be considered as a particular porous media with a connected void phase. In this paper, a fluid flow through a collagen network is analyzed with applications in the area of restorative dentistry. Infiltration of a fluid into a network already saturated by another fluid is a complex issue especially when the fibers are so tightly distributed (10 to 100 nm between...