Collagen-rich matrix

The normal artery is composed of three distinct layers (Fig. 34.21). That which is closest to the lumen of the vessel, the intima, is lined by a monolayer of endothelial cells that are bathed by the circulating blood. Just beneath these specialized cells lies the subintimal extracellular matrix, in which some vascular smooth muscle cells are embedded (the subintimal space). The middle layer, known as the tunica media, is separated from the intima by the internal elastic lamina. The tunica media contains lamellae of smooth muscle cells surrounded by an elastin- and collagen-rich matrix. The external elastic lamina forms the border between the tunica media and the outermost layer, the adventitia. This layer contains nerve fibers and mast cells. It is the origin of the vasa vasorum, which supply blood to the outer two thirds of the tunica media. 

It is known that when hepatocytes are freshly isolated and cultured under conventional conditions on plastic or collagen coated dishes, gene transcription is drastically depressed and liver specific mRNA declines while the mRNA of structure related genes increases many fold. By contrast, hepatocyte culture on extracellular matrix (ECM), rich in laminin, type IV collagen, and heparin sulfate proteoglycan exhibits increased longevity and maintenance of several liver-specific functions. 

Solution matrix, of collagen-rich tissue, 43-12 Solution methods and computational considerations, for bioelectric field problems, 23-12... 

Fibroblasts Connective tissue cells which secrete an extracellular matrix rich in collagen and other macromolecules, [nih]... 

Our own skin is made up of specialized cells which become filled with microfibrils of keratin as they move outward and become the relatively dry nonliving external surface (Box 8-F). Internal epithelial cells secrete protein and carbohydrate materials that form a thin basement membrane around the exposed parts of the cells. The connective tissue that lies between organs and which also includes tendons, cartilage, and bone consists of a relatively small number of cells surrounded by a "matrix" consisting of the protein fibers collagen and elastin in a "ground substance" rich in proteoglycans (Chapter 4).616 618 in bone, the calcium phosphate is deposited within this matrix. 

The odontoblasts secrete an extracellular matrix that is rich in collagen I and which also contains all of the other major bone proteins as well as a dentin sialoprotein and poorly characterized phosphate carriers, the phosphophoryns. 

MacBeath, J. R., Shackleton, D. R., and Hulmes, D. J. S. (1993). Tyrosine-rich acidic matrix protein (TRAMP) accelerates collagen fibril formation in vitro. J. Biol. Chem. 268, 19826-19832. 

Decorin is a small, leucine-rich proteoglycan and one of the many extracellular matrix (ECM) compounds. It interacts closely with the D and E bands of type 1 collagen and increases collagen s tensile strength.39,40 In rats with subcutaneously implanted devices, we found that the decorin was highly expressed at the middle and later stages of the foreign body reaction.17... 

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