The extracellular matrix (ECM) is recognized as a diverse, dynamic, and complex environment that is involved in multiple cell-physiological and pathological processes. However, the isolation of ECM, from tissues or cell culture, is complicated by the insoluble and cross-linked nature of the assembled ECM and by the potential contamination of ECM extracts with cell surface and intracellular prot...

Cancer development and progression require extensive reorganization of extracellular matrix [1, 2]. ECM is a complex mixture of structural proteins, glycoproteins, and proteoglycans, which provide not only essential physical scaffolds to maintain tissues structure but also various biochemical signals to modulate cellular function. Altering the fine balance of ECM signal is sufficient in the lon...

OBJECTIVE The objective of this study is to evaluate the accuracy of extended cervical mediastinoscopy (ECM) in the staging of bronchogenic carcinoma (BC) of the left lung based on our updated experience. METHODS From 1998 to 2003, 89 patients underwent routine ECM for staging of BC of the left lung. In 2004, routine positron emission tomography (PET) was included in our staging protocol and ...

Enterprise content management (ECM) systems help organizations cope with the increasing complexity and volume of data and information. Despite the growing popularity of ECM, published literature indicates that organizations primarily use ECM for operational benefits, while the strategic decision making capabilities are rarely considered. Thus, the most significant rewards of ECM implementation ...

● To understand the composition and organization of extracellular matrix (ECM) in tissues and organs ● To recognize the utility of scaffolds derived from ECM in the field of tissue engineering ● To comprehend the importance of mechanical behavior and mechanical design in the use of ECM scaffolds for tissue repair ● To identify the process by which ECM scaffolds are produced ● To understand some...

OBJECTIVE Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) have emerged as a promising tool for treating incurable diseases. The current challenges are to avoid potential xenopathogenic transmission and immune rejection potentially caused by exposure of iPSCs to animal-derived products. In addition, an efficient feeder cell-free culture condition will be required for minimizing batch-to-batch variation a...

Interaction between arterial macrophages and oxidized LDL (Ox-LDL) leads to foam cell formation, a critical step during early atherogenesis. Until now, cellular uptake of lipoproteins was studied through incubation of the media-soluble lipoprotein with cultured macrophages. However, as lipoproteins in the arterial wall are bound to subendothelial matrix, we questioned whether the retention (bin...

Hypoxia, a common feature of the tumor environment and participant in tumor progression, is known to alter gene and protein expression of several Extracellular Matrix (ECM) proteins, many of which have roles in angiogenesis. Previously, we reported that ECM deposited from co-cultures of Neonatal Fibroblasts (NuFF) with breast cancer cells, supported 3-dimensional vascular morphogenesis. Here, w...

The vasculature is protected from complement activation by regulatory molecules expressed on endothelial cells. However, complement fixation also occurs on subendothelial extracellular matrix (ECM) in vitro, and is initiated simply by retraction or removal of overlying cells. To investigate mechanisms controlling vascular complement activation, we examined subendothelial ECM for the presence of...