scholarly journals Extracellular matrix stiffness regulates force transmission pathways in multicellular ensembles of human airway smooth muscle cells

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Samuel R. Polio ◽  
Suzanne E Stasiak ◽  
Ramaswamy Krishnan ◽  
Harikrishnan Parameswaran
Keyword(s):  
Extracellular Matrix ◽  
Smooth Muscle ◽  
Focal Adhesions ◽  
Critical Factor ◽  
Fluorescent Imaging ◽  
Airway Smooth Muscle Cells ◽  
Force Transmission ◽  
Transmission Pathways ◽  
Cell Ensemble ◽  
Cell Cell

AbstractFor an airway or a blood vessel to narrow, there must be a connected path that links the smooth muscle (SM) cells with each other, and transmits forces around the organ, causing it to constrict. Currently, we know very little about the mechanisms that regulate force transmission pathways in a multicellular SM ensemble. Here, we used extracellular matrix (ECM) micropatterning to study force transmission in a two-cell ensemble of SM cells. Using the two-SM cell ensemble, we demonstrate (a) that ECM stiffness acts as a switch that regulates whether SM force is transmitted through the ECM or through cell-cell connections. (b) Fluorescent imaging for adherens junctions and focal adhesions show the progressive loss of cell-cell borders and the appearance of focal adhesions with the increase in ECM stiffness (confirming our mechanical measurements). (c) At the same ECM stiffness, we show that the presence of a cell-cell border substantially decreases the overall contractility of the SM cell ensemble. Our results demonstrate that connectivity among SM cells is a critical factor to consider in the development of diseases such as asthma and hypertension.

Extracellular matrix and airway smooth muscle interactions: a target for modulating airway wall remodelling and hyperresponsiveness?This article is one of a selection of papers published in the Special Issue on Recent Advances in Asthma Research.

2007 ◽  
Vol 85 (7) ◽  
pp. 666-671 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thai Tran ◽  
Andrew J. Halayko
Keyword(s):  
Extracellular Matrix ◽  
Smooth Muscle ◽  
Airway Smooth Muscle ◽  
Molecular Mechanisms ◽  
Matrix Proteins ◽  
Airway Smooth Muscle Cells ◽  
Airway Wall ◽  
Future Directions ◽  
Airway Function ◽  
And Function

The airway smooth muscle from asthmatic airways produces increased amounts and an altered composition of extracellular matrix proteins. The extracellular matrix can in turn influence the phenotype and function of airway smooth muscle cells, affecting the biochemical, geometric, and mechanical properties of the airway wall. This review provides a brief overview of the current understanding of the biology associated with airway smooth muscle interactions with the extracellular matrix. We present future directions needed for the study of cellular and molecular mechanisms that determine the outcomes of extracellular matrix – airway smooth muscle interactions, and discuss their possible importance as determinants of airway function in asthma.

scholarly journals Diverse cell junctions with unique molecular composition in tissues of a sponge (Porifera)

EvoDevo ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennyfer M. Mitchell ◽  
Scott A. Nichols
Keyword(s):  
Extracellular Matrix ◽  
Focal Adhesion ◽  
Adherens Junction ◽  
Focal Adhesions ◽  
Molecular Composition ◽  
Cell Junctions ◽  
Adhesion Proteins ◽  
Focal Adhesion Proteins ◽  
Junction Protein ◽  
Cell Cell

Abstract The integrity and organization of animal tissues depend upon specialized protein complexes that mediate adhesion between cells with each other (cadherin-based adherens junctions), and with the extracellular matrix (integrin-based focal adhesions). Reconstructing how and when these cell junctions evolved is central to understanding early tissue evolution in animals. We examined focal adhesion protein homologs in tissues of the freshwater sponge, Ephydatia muelleri (phylum Porifera; class Demospongiae). Our principal findings are that (1) sponge focal adhesion homologs (integrin, talin, focal adhesion kinase, etc.) co-precipitate as a complex, separate from adherens junction proteins; (2) that actin-based structures resembling focal adhesions form at the cell–substrate interface, and their abundance is dynamically regulated in response to fluid shear; (3) focal adhesion proteins localize to both cell–cell and cell–extracellular matrix adhesions, and; (4) the adherens junction protein β-catenin is co-distributed with focal adhesion proteins at cell–cell junctions everywhere except the choanoderm, and at novel junctions between cells with spicules, and between cells with environmental bacteria. These results clarify the diversity, distribution and molecular composition of cell junctions in tissues of E. muelleri, but raise new questions about their functional properties and ancestry.

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