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The Role Of Xenopus Laevis Reck In Ecm Remodeling And Tissue Patterning, Jessica Willson
The Role Of Xenopus Laevis Reck In Ecm Remodeling And Tissue Patterning, Jessica Willson
Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository
Proper cell-cell and cell-extracellular matrix (ECM) interactions are vital for cell migration and patterning of the vertebrate embryo. Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) and their inhibitors, reversion-inducing cysteine-rich proteins with Kazal motifs (RECK) and tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinases (TIMPs), are all differentially expressed during embryogenesis to regulate such ECM remodeling events and cell interactions. While TIMPs are a family of 4 secreted proteins that share overlapping substrate specificities of MMPs, RECK is unique in that it is a membrane-anchored MMP inhibitor that is embryonic lethal in mice. I used Xenopus laevis as a model organism to investigate the role of RECK as …