Identification of functional programmable mechanical stimulation (PMS) on tendon not only provides the insight of the tendon homeostasis under physical/pathological condition, but also guides a better engineering strategy for tendon regeneration. The aims of the study are to design a bioreactor system with PMS to mimic the in vivo loading conditions, and to define the impact of different cyclic...

the influence of glycosaminoglycans (gag) on collagen fibrillogenesis in vitro was investigated. gag and collagen were isolated from the liver of rats treated with carbon tetrachloride at various time intervals (3-16 weeks). it was found that gag obtained from the fibrotic liver accelerated collagen fibril formation. this effect was more evident in a solution of type i collagen than type iii co...

Collagen lattices containing bovine retinal pericytes (RPs), vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs), pulmonary microvessel endothelial cells (PMECs), or aortic endothelial cells (AECs) were prepared and contraction was quantitated by measuring the resulting change in lattice area. VSMCs were the most efficient at lattice contraction followed by RPs and then PMECs. AECs did not contract the lattic...

Collagen lattices containing bovine retinal pericytes (RPs), vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs), pulmonary microvessel endothelial cells (PMECs), or aortic endothelial cells (AECs) were prepared and contraction was quantitated by measuring the resulting change in lattice area. VSMCs were the most efficient at lattice contraction followed by RPs and then PMECs. AECs did not contract the lattic...

With the discovery of hearing disorders caused by mutations in proteins expressed in the tectorial membrane (TM), the importance of the TM in cochlear mechanics has never been clearer. However, the exact role of the TM in cochlear mechanics remains a mystery. In this thesis, I have investigated material properties of two mouse models of genetic hearing disorders that affect proteins found in th...

Background: Alteration in polymorphism of tissue collagens has been reported in association with some genetic and metabolic disorders. These alterations can be estimated quantitatively by measuring alpha-chain monomers derived from the polymeric form of collagens following treatment with sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE). We studied the rate of placental colla...

This "Part II morphology and cytoarchitecture" study is based on paraffin-embedded specimens in which the extracellular and intracellular matrix are preserved; single parallel, perpendicular, and transverse serial sections of the entire atrioventricular (AV) junction region (AVJR) and their correlation with photographs of the tissue blocks. As in Part I, the same major new findings are: 1) a co...

collagen, which is widely distributed in pluricellular animals, is one of the most fundamental constituents of the extracellular matrix, and plays mechanically or physiologically important roles in their bodies. in this study, the biochemical and physical characteristics of pepsin-solubilized collagen from the mantle of yesso scallop (ympc), a by-product of processing, was determined. electroph...