Via integrins, cells can sense dimensionality and other physical and biochemical properties of the extracellular matrix (ECM). Cells respond differently to two-dimensional substrates and three-dimensional environments, activating distinct signaling pathways for each. Direct integrin signaling and indirect integrin modulation of growth factor and other intracellular signaling pathways regulate E...

Adenoid cystic carcinoma (AdCC) is characterized by low mitogenic activity, high invasiveness, and vigorous production and accumulation of extracellular matrix (ECM). As it does in vivo, a cell line (ACCS) derived from a human AdCC grows very slowly and displays potential for production of a large amount of ECM. ACCS cells also produce a significant amount of proteolytic enzymes, including urok...

BACKGROUND The extracellular matrix (ECM) provides a supportive microenvironment for cells, which is suitable as a tissue engineering scaffold. Mechanical stimulus plays a significant role in the fate of osteoblast, suggesting that it regulates ECM formation. Therefore, we investigated the influence of mechanical stimulus on ECM formation and bioactivity. METHODS Mouse osteoblastic MC3T3-E1 c...

Vascular endothelial cells (ECs) seeded sparsely on extracellular matrix (ECM) will proliferate in the absence of exogenous basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF). This ECM will also stimulate neurite outgrowth in PC12 cells in the absence of exogenous growth factors. We have previously shown that bFGF is found in subendothelial ECM (Vlodavsky, I., J. Folkman, R. Sullivan, R. Fridman, R. Ishai-M...

We investigated the association between ectomycorrhizal (ECM) and arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi and pioneer woody plant species in areas devastated by the eruption of Mt. Usu, Japan, in 2000. We observed 8 woody plant species at the research site, most of which were associated with ECM and/or AM fungi. In particular, dominant woody plant species Populus maximowiczii, Salix hultenii var. ang...

Pathological remodeling of the extracellular matrix (ECM) by fibroblasts leads to organ failure. Development of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is characterized by a progressive fibrotic scarring in the lung that ultimately leads to asphyxiation; however, the cascade of events that promote IPF are not well defined. Here, we examined how the interplay between the ECM and fibroblasts affects ...

Biologic scaffolds composed of extracellular matrix (ECM) are commonly used repair devices in preclinical and clinical settings; however the use of these scaffolds for peripheral and central nervous system (CNS) repair has been limited. Biologic scaffolds developed from brain and spinal cord tissue have recently been described, yet the conformation of the harvested ECM limits therapeutic utilit...

The dynamics of filopodia interacting with the surrounding extracellular matrix (ECM) play a key role in various cell-ECM interactions, but their mechanisms of interaction with the ECM in 3D environment remain poorly understood. Based on first principles, here we construct an individual-based, force-based computational model integrating four modules of 1) filopodia penetration dynamics; 2) intr...

Ectomycorrhizal (ECM) plants and fungi can be diverse and abundant in certain tropical ecosystems. For example, the primarily paleotropical ECM plant family Dipterocarpaceae is one of the most speciose and ecologically important tree families in Southeast Asia. Pakaraimaea dipterocarpacea is one of two species of dipterocarp known from the Neotropics, and is also the only known member of the mo...