Despite the crucial role of extracellular matrix (ECM) in directing cell fate in healthy and diseased tissues--particularly in development, wound healing, tissue regeneration and cancer--the mechanisms that direct the assembly and regulate hierarchical architectures of ECM are poorly understood. Collagen I matrix assembly in vivo requires active fibronectin (Fn) fibrillogenesis by cells. Here w...

The concentrations of NaB3H4-reducible collagen cross-links were determined at the time when collagen fibres and bundles are observed in electron micrographs of connective tissue developing around the implanted Ivalon sponge in adult male rats. The highest radioactivity occurs with hydroxylysinonoreleucine and histidinohydroxymerodesmosine, and the lowest with lysinonorleucine, the reducible am...

We describe the production of collagen fibre bundles through a multi-strand, semi-continuous extrusion process. Cross-linking using an EDC (1-ethyl-3-(3-dimethylaminopropyl)carbodiimide), NHS (N-hydroxysuccinimide) combination was considered. Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) and Raman spectroscopy focused on how cross-linking affected the collagen fibrillar structure. In the cross-linked fibres, a...

The arterial fibrous rings were investigated in human embryos aged 7 and 8 weeks under light and scanning electron microscopes. In the present study it was shown that the arrangement of collagen and formation of fibres changes rapidly within one week. In the 7(th) week there are no collagen fibres and the netlike fibrils extend between processes of fibroblasts. At the end of the 8(th) week the ...

Preparation of microfibre constructs of collagen by electrospinning has been problematic due to the instability of collagen in volatile solvents, such as 1,1,1,3,3,3-hexafluoro-2-propanol, so that electrospinning leads to a substantial amount of gelatin fibres. In the present study we have demonstrated the production of collagen-based microfibre constructs by use of a layer-by-layer coating pro...

Neutral-salt-soluble collagen is a protein, or group of proteins, involved in collagen anabolism (Harkness, Marko, Muir & Neuberger, 1954; Gross, 1958a; Jackson, 1957) and showing the unusual behaviour of aggregating to typical collagen fibrils when its solutions are warmed to body temperature (Jackson & Fessler, 1955; Gross, Highberger & Schmitt, 1955). One available method of isolation was in...

OBJECTIVES The purpose of this study was to evaluate chronological changes in the collagen-type composition at tendon-bone interface during tendon-bone healing and to clarify the continuity between Sharpey-like fibres and inner fibres of the tendon. METHODS Male white rabbits were used to create an extra-articular bone-tendon graft model by grafting the extensor digitorum longus into a bone t...

Structurally motivated material models may provide increased insights into the underlying mechanics and physics of arteries under physiological loading conditions. We propose a multiscale model for arterial tissue capturing three different scales (i) a single collagen fibre; (ii) bundle of collagen fibres; and (iii) collagen network within the tissue. The waviness of collagen fibres is introduc...

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the presence of structural disorders of the corpora cavernosa in patients with erectile dysfunction (ED), as despite new drugs being effective in many men with ED, some aspects of structural disorders of the corpora cavernosa remain unknown. MATERIALS AND METHODS Biopsy specimens were taken from the corpora cavernosa of seven patients (mean age 57.8 years, range 51-72) w...

In articular cartilage the orientation of collagen fibres is not uniform varying mostly with the depth of the tissue. Besides, the biomechanical response of each layer of the articular cartilage differs from the neighbouring ones, evolving through thickness as a function of the distribution, density and orientation of the collagen fibres. Based on a finite element implementation, a new continuu...