Weight Gain Reveals Dramatic Increases in Skeletal Muscle Extracellular Matrix Remodeling Researchers aimed to test whether 10% weight gain induced by overfeeding triggers inflammation and extracellular matrix remodeling (gene expression, protein, histology) in skeletal muscle and subcutaneous adipose tissue in humans. They also investigated whether such remodeling was associated with an impaired metabolic response (hyperinsulinemic-euglycemic clamp). [J Clin Endocr Metab] Abstract ALK1 Heterozygosity Increases Extracellular Matrix Protein Expression, Proliferation and Migration in Fibroblasts Scientists aimed to evaluate the role of activin receptor-like kinase 1 (ALK1) in several processes involved in fibrosis such as extracellular matrix protein expression, proliferation and migration in ALK1+/+ and ALK1+/− mouse embryonic fibroblasts after transforming growth factor beta 1 stimulations and inhibitors. [Biochim Biophys Acta] Abstract Nanocomposite Scaffold for Chondrocyte Growth and Cartilage Tissue Engineering: Effects of Carbon Nanotube Surface Functionalization Investigators hypothesized that single wall carbon nanotube nanocomposite scaffolds in cartilage tissue engineering can provide an improved molecular sized substrate for stimulation of chondrocyte growth, as well as structural reinforcement of the scaffold’s mechanical properties. [Tissue Eng Part A] Abstract Type VII Collagen Is Enriched in the Enamel Organic Matrix Associated with the Dentin-Enamel Junction of Mature Human Teeth Since enamel-forming ameloblasts are known to express type VII collagen and type VII collagen null mice display abnormal amelogenesis, the authors aimed to determine whether type VII collagen is a component of the enamel organic matrix at the dentin-enamel junction of mature human teeth. [Bone] Abstract Extra-Cellular Matrix Proteins Induce Matrix Metalloproteinase-1 (MMP-1) Activity and Increase Airway Smooth Muscle Contraction in Asthma Researchers used airway smooth muscle cells (ASM) and bronchial biopsies from control donors and patients with asthma to examine the regulation of MMP-1 by extracellular matrix in ASM cells and the effect of MMP-1 on ASM contraction. [PLoS One] Full Article Quantification of Collagen I in Airway Tissues Using Second Harmonic Generation The F/B second harmonic generation ratio was used to determine the proportion of organized to disorganized collagen, with lower variation in F/B ratio between sampling regions within the same patient and between patients in the same disease group compared with analyzing forward (F) (primarily organized/mature collagen fibrils) and backward (B) (primarily disorganized/immature collagen fibrils) data alone. [J Biomed Opt] Abstract Generation of Tunable Glycosaminoglycan Hydrogels to Mimic Extracellular Matrices The authors present a novel methodology for the extraction, purification and separation of glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) from umbilical cord obtained from two different species, human and pig. The new methodology is based on enzymatic digestion of Wharton’s jelly, precipitation of GAGs with organic solvents, purification steps and chromatographic separation of GAGs using ion exchange columns. [J Tissue Eng Regen Med] Abstract Extracellular Matrix Signatures of Human Mammary Carcinoma Identify Novel Metastasis Promoters Investigators define extracellular matrix signatures of poorly and highly metastatic mammary carcinomas and these signatures reveal up-regulation of signaling pathways including TGFβ and VEGF. [eLife] Full Article | Press Release |