Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
Articles 1 - 3 of 3
Full-Text Articles in Engineering
Cell Type And Substrate Dependence Of Fibronectin Properties And Mechanotransduction, Navpreet S. Saini
Cell Type And Substrate Dependence Of Fibronectin Properties And Mechanotransduction, Navpreet S. Saini
Theses and Dissertations
Fibronectin is an important protein that is able to bind to other fibronectin molecules and to cell surface receptors. In doing so, the interactions fibronectin can perform is important for the processes of cell migration and tissue formation. Understanding the properties of fibronectin and fibril assembly is useful for areas such as wound healing, where fibronectin molecules are assembled to protect the tissue and to perform other tasks. Because of these reasons, it is important to understand how fibronectin is assembled and how its properties affect the fibril assembly, which in return affects the way the cell matrix operates. Previously …
Mechanochemical Regulation Of Epithelial Tissue Remodeling: A Multiscale Computational Model Of The Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition Program, Lewis Scott
Theses and Dissertations
Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) regulates the cellular processes of migration, growth, and proliferation - as well as the collective cellular process of tissue remodeling - in response to mechanical and chemical stimuli in the cellular microenvironment. Cells of the epithelium form cell-cell junctions with adjacent cells to function as a barrier between the body and its environment. By distributing localized stress throughout the tissue, this mechanical coupling between cells maintains tensional homeostasis in epithelial tissue structures and provides positional information for regulating cellular processes. Whereas in vitro and in vivo models fail to capture the complex interconnectedness of EMT-associated signaling networks, …
The Role Of The Mechanical Environment On Cd117+ Endothelial Cell Angiogenesis, Patrick Link
The Role Of The Mechanical Environment On Cd117+ Endothelial Cell Angiogenesis, Patrick Link
Theses and Dissertations
Angiogenesis is a complex process coordinating cell migration, proliferation, and lumen formation. Changes to the microenvironment regulate angiogenesis through mechanotransduction and cytokine signals. In pulmonary hypertension, something in the process becomes abnormal, resulting in changes to the microenvironment and the formation of a glomerulus of dysfunctional capillaries, called a plexiform lesion. Endothelial cells, expressing CD117 (CD117+ EC clones) increase in the plexiform lesions of pulmonary hypertension, independent of pro-angiogenic VEGF signaling. We hypothesize that the mechanical environment and the macromolecular composition of the extracellular matrix, both, contribute to the aberrant angiogenesis. When we changed the mechanical environment, we changed the …