Loftis Melissa Joy, Sexton Dacia, Carver Wayne
Department of Cell and Developmental Biology and Anatomy, University of South Carolina School of Medicine, Columbia, South Carolina 29208, USA.
J Cell Physiol. 2003 Sep;196(3):504-11. doi: 10.1002/jcp.10330.
Interactions between cells and the extracellular matrix (ECM) play essential roles in modulating cell behavior during development and disease. The myocardial ECM is composed predominantly of interstitial collagen type I and type III. The composition, organization, and accumulation of these collagens are altered concurrent with cardiovascular development and disease. Changes in these parameters are thought to play significant roles in myocardial function. While a number of studies have examined how changes in the ECM affect myocardial function as a whole, much less is known regarding the response at the cellular level to changes in the collagenous ECM. Experiments were carried out to determine the effects of alterations in collagen density and ECM stiffness on the behavior of isolated heart fibroblasts. In vitro bioassays were performed to measure the effects of changes in collagen concentration (0.75-1.25 mg/ml) on adhesion, migration, spreading, and gene expression by heart fibroblasts. Increased density of collagen in 3-dimensional gels resulted in more efficient adhesion, spreading, and migration by heart fibroblasts. These experiments indicated that the density of the collagen matrix has a significant impact on fibroblast function. These studies begin to elucidate the effects of ECM density at the cellular level in the myocardium.
细胞与细胞外基质（ECM）之间的相互作用在发育和疾病过程中调节细胞行为方面起着至关重要的作用。心肌细胞外基质主要由I型和III型间质胶原组成。这些胶原的组成、组织和积累会随着心血管发育和疾病而发生改变。这些参数的变化被认为在心肌功能中起着重要作用。虽然许多研究已经探讨了细胞外基质的变化如何影响整体心肌功能，但关于细胞水平对胶原性细胞外基质变化的反应却知之甚少。开展实验以确定胶原密度和细胞外基质硬度的改变对分离的心脏成纤维细胞行为的影响。进行体外生物测定以测量胶原浓度（0.75 - 1.25 mg/ml）变化对心脏成纤维细胞的黏附、迁移、铺展和基因表达的影响。三维凝胶中胶原密度的增加导致心脏成纤维细胞更有效地黏附、铺展和迁移。这些实验表明胶原基质的密度对成纤维细胞功能有显著影响。这些研究开始阐明细胞外基质密度在心肌细胞水平的作用。
