Collagen extracellular matrix protein

Collagen is the most abundant extracellular matrix protein family in vertebrates. Proteins in the collagen superfamily all have three polypeptide chains with the required -Gly-Xaa-Yaa- repeated sequence, where Xaa and Yaa are frequently proline and 4-hydroxyproline, respectively. At present, more than 30 molecular species of vertebrate proteins called collagen are classified into 28 types as type I, II, III,..., XXVIII. They are typically called type N collagen , or collagen N . In addition, there are many more collagen-like proteins that... 

Most types of collagen are extracellular matrix proteins but four of the vertebrate collagens (XIII, XVII, XXIII, and XXV) are classified as type II membrane proteins. They contain an N-terminal cytoplasmic domain, a transmembrane domain, and an extracellular collagenous domain. Also, a membrane-bound protein, ectodys-plasin-A, is a membrane protein with 19 -Gly-Xaa-Yaa- repeat. Macrophage scavenger receptor, ... 

Recall that collagen is an extracellular matrix protein that serves as a major constituent of many connective tissues (see figs. 4.10 to 4.13). Collagen fibrils have a distinctive banded pattern with a periodicity of 680 A. Individual fibrils are composed of three polypeptide chains wound around one another in a right-handed helix with a total length of 3,000 A. Each of the polypeptide chains in the triple helix has a repetitious tripeptide sequence, Gly-X-Y, where X is frequently a proline and Y is frequently a hy-droxyproline. The latter amino acid is not one of the 20 that are specified genetically, so it must be formed posttransla-tionally by a modification of some of the prolines. 

Fibronectin is a cell-surface compound with domains that interact with many compounds, including integrins and extracellular matrix proteins such as collagen. Fibronectin expression can be stimulated by I GF-[3 and by CTGF,41 although increases in fibronectin expression can also be mediated by TGF-(3-independent means 42 We found some evidence of increased expression of fibronectin in FBC tissue, but not to the degree in which I GF-[3, CTGF, and decorin were expressed.16,17... 

The central event in the development of liver fibrosis is the enhanced sinusoidal deposition of extracellular matrix proteins that are mainly produced by activated HSC [86, 112, 113] and to a minor extent by endothelial cells [44-46] and hepatocytes [114, 115]. So far, no evidence has been found that KC are directly involved in the production of extracellular matrix proteins [39]. The accumulation of extracellular matrix proteins is caused by a disturbed balance between the synthesis and the degradation of the matrix proteins. This imbalance leads to a 5 to 10-fold increase in the total amount of matrix molecules and to an altered composition of the extracellular matrix. In contrast to normal livers, the sinusoids in fibrotic livers are stuffed with the fibrillar collagens type I and III. This colla-genization of the sinusoids, referred to as sinusoidal capillarization, causes severe disturbances of the blood flow and an impaired exchange of proteins between the liver cells and blood. Furthermore, this capillarization is accompanied by a loss of fenestration of the sinusoidal endothelial lining, which further hampers the diffusion of proteins between plasma and hepatic cells. 

Extracellular matrix protein Collagen fragments (endostatin)... 

These serine proteases are used to remove pathogens by their hydrolytic activity. They degrade cell membrane proteins and connective tissue matrices by hydrolysis of extracellular matrix proteins such as fibronectin, type IV collagen and laminin, or solubilizing fibrous elastins [55, 56]. Immune cell proteases also are capable of cleaving cytokines, growth hormone, neuropeptides, and procoagulant proteins such as Factors X and V. 

Various lots of extracellular matrix proteins should be screened for use in chemotaxis experiments. Active preparations of collagen type IV, laminin, and... 

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