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Full-Text Articles in Translational Medical Research

Fibronectin Signals Through Integrin Α5Β1 To Regulate Cardiovascular Development In A Cell Type-Specific Manner., Dongying Chen, Xia Wang, Dong Liang, Julie Gordon, Ashok Mittal, Nancy Manley, Karl Degenhardt, Sophie Astrof Nov 2015

Fibronectin Signals Through Integrin Α5Β1 To Regulate Cardiovascular Development In A Cell Type-Specific Manner., Dongying Chen, Xia Wang, Dong Liang, Julie Gordon, Ashok Mittal, Nancy Manley, Karl Degenhardt, Sophie Astrof

Department of Medicine Faculty Papers

Fibronectin (Fn1) is an evolutionarily conserved extracellular matrix glycoprotein essential for embryonic development. Global deletion of Fn1 leads to mid-gestation lethality from cardiovascular defects. However, severe morphogenetic defects that occur early in embryogenesis in these embryos precluded assigning a direct role for Fn1 in cardiovascular development. We noticed that Fn1 is expressed in strikingly non-uniform patterns during mouse embryogenesis, and that its expression is particularly enriched in the pharyngeal region corresponding with the pharyngeal arches 3, 4, and 6. This region bears a special importance for the developing cardiovascular system, and we hypothesized that the localized enrichment of Fn1 in …


New Functions For Alpha-Catenins In Health And Disease: From Cancer To Heart Regeneration., Alexia Vite, Jifen Li, Glenn L. Radice Jun 2015

New Functions For Alpha-Catenins In Health And Disease: From Cancer To Heart Regeneration., Alexia Vite, Jifen Li, Glenn L. Radice

Center for Translational Medicine Faculty Papers

Strong cell-cell adhesion mediated by adherens junctions is dependent on anchoring the transmembrane cadherin molecule to the underlying actin cytoskeleton. To do this, the cadherin cytoplasmic domain interacts with catenin proteins, which include α-catenin that binds directly to filamentous actin. Originally thought to be a static structure, the connection between the cadherin/catenin adhesion complex and the actin cytoskeleton is now considered to be dynamic and responsive to both intercellular and intracellular signals. Alpha-catenins are mechanosensing proteins that undergo conformational change in response to cytoskeletal tension thus modifying the linkage between the cadherin and the actin cytoskeleton. There are three α-catenin …