细胞技术

The collagens, proteoglycans, and glycoproteins of the extracellular matrix (ECM) are a diverse collection of macromolecules, heterogeneous in size, structure, and function. However, their primary structures have revealed that their polypeptide components are frequently c ...

Integrins are heterodimeric cell-surface receptors involved in a variety of functions such as binding to the ECM, regulation of the cellular organization, cell migration, proliferation, differentiation, and gene expression (1,2). Integrins in their native environment can diff ...

Collagen fibrils in tissue are generally heterotypic with more than one type of collagen molecule incorporated into the fibril structure. Furthermore specific macromolecules are bound onto the fibril surface influencing both the assembly and the interaction of the fibril with the s ...

Extracellular matrices (ECM) contain a mixture of fibrillar and nonfibrillar macromolecular components, which together form a composite structure (1–3). It is the ECM that defines the architecture, the form, and the biomechanical properties of different tissues (4,5). Among the nonf ...

Genetic disorders of cartilage (chondrodysplasias) are a clinically and genetically heterogeneous group of diseases ranging in severity from relatively mild to severe and lethal forms (1-2). There are over 100 unique well-characterized chondrodysplasia phenotypes and rema ...

The analysis of phenotypes caused by null and mutant alleles is a very powerful means to understand gene function in vivo. Historically, this experimental approach has been widely and successfully used in invertebrate models. Now, thanks to the gene-targeting technology in ES cells, the gen ...

Extracellular matrix (ECM) plays a critical role in normal development, tissue repair, and is altered in several disease states. During these processes, expression of ECM genes is regulated temporally and spatially. Identification of regulatory elements that direct tissue- and sta ...

Genetically engineered mutant strains of mice have become invaluable too to decipher complex biological processes, such as ECM assembly, and to dissect phenotypic overlaps, like the genodermatoses. Homologous gene targe ing in embryonic stem (ES) cells is increasingly favored over ...

The introduction of recombinant DNA has become a common tool for studying functional and structural properties of a wide variety of proteins. Functional analysis of protein can be studied by suppression of gene expression, thus introducing a plasmid which expresses an antisense RNA in mam ...

We present a method that uses microcontact printing of alkanethiols on gold to generate patterned substrates presenting “islands” of extracellular matrix (ECM) surrounded by nonadhesive regions such that single cells attach and spread only on the adhesive regions. We have used this mi ...

Immunohistochemistry or immunofluorescence analyses are ideal techniques for localizing adhesive molecules in organs and tissues if reliable, well-characterized antibodies are available. In situ hybridization with RNA probes represents an alternative method for det ...

Fibronectin is an ubiquitous extracellular glycoprotein that exists in a soluble form in body fluids and in an insoluble form in the extracellular matrix. It plays a major role in many important physiological processes, such as embryogen-esis, wound healing, hemostasis, and thrombosis ( ...

Cells in tissues exist in a structural and informational context that involves other cells and extracellular matrix (ECM), as well as growth factors, hormones, and ECM-remodeling enzymes. The ECM is a complex mixture of collagenous and noncollagenous glycoproteins and proteoglycans ...

Peripheral blood leukocytes interact with the endothelial lining of the cardiovascular system in a wide variety of physiologic and pathophysiologic situations. In various types of acute and chronic inflammatory reactions, for example, polymorphonuclear leukocytes (neut ...

A critical step in the recruitment of leukocytes to a site of inflammation is leukocyte adhesion to the vascular endothelium in the fluid dynamic environment of the microcirculation. This process involves a cascade of adhesive events, including initial attachment, rolling, spreadin ...

A variety of adhesive interactions take place between tumor cells (TC) and vascular endothelium in tumor progression and metastasis (1). One of the most important events of the metastatic cascade is the arrest of circulating TC in the capillary bed of secondary organs followed by the interact ...

The interaction between circulating tumor cells and the vascular wall is a crucial step in the process of extravasation of these cells and in the subsequent formation of the metastasis. Tumor cells extravasation is believed to be similar to that of leukocites across the vascular wall during in ...

The adhesion of cells is normally studied in the absence of flow. In a classic setup, ELISA wells are coated with an adhesive protein and subsequently incubated with a cell suspension. The gravity is responsible for the transport of the cells to the adhesive surface. This setup is not appropriate for bl ...

In vitro wound healing is a complex phenomenon in which cells mechanically released from tight confluence migrate in an oriented fashion to an area made free of cells (1). Moreover, beyond migrating, cells at the advancing border often re-enter the cell cycle (2–4). In the perspective of adhesion mo ...

The endothelial lining of blood vessels forms an intact monolayer throughout the vascular system, and constitutes a critical barrier between the blood flow and the tissues beneath. Endothelial cells (EC) have a prominent role in the regulation of hemostasis, immunity, and inflammation; ...