Collagen synthesis, content, and concentration were determined in the hypertrophied intima media of thoracic aortas from 10-, 15-, and 20-week-old spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR). Although the rates of aortic collagen synthesis declined with age, the dry weight of the intima media and the total collagen content increased proportionally. Collagen concentration thus remained unchanged. Meth...

We have analysed the effects of oncogenic transformation on the expression of type VI collagen in mesenchymal cells. Synthesis of type VI collagen was almost completely inhibited in fibroblasts transformed by DNA or RNA tumour viruses or in cells derived from spontaneous mesenchymal tumours. Inhibition of type VI collagen synthesis appears, therefore, to be a common phenomenon of transformed me...

BACKGROUND/AIMS Promyelocytic leukemia (PML) protein is a tumor suppressor that fuses with retinoic acid receptor-α (PML-RARα) to contribute to the initiation of acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL). Arsenic trioxide (ATO) upregulates expression of TGF-β1, promoting collagen synthesis in osteoblasts, and ATO binds directly to PML to induce oligomerization, sumoylation, and ubiquitination. However...

Recent studies have shown that the hydroxyproline and hydroxylysine found in the collagen of vertebrates are synthesized by the hydroxylation of proline and lysine, which have been incorporated into a large polypeptide precursor of collagen called protocollagen. Because the collagen isolated from the cuticle of Ascaris lumbricoides contains less hydroxyproline and hydroxylysine than any other k...

The effect of hypoxia on the proliferation and collagen synthesis of cultured rat mesangial cells was examined under normal-glucose (NG, 5 mM) and high-glucose (HG, 25 mM)-media conditions. In addition, a role for osteopontin (OPN) in mediating these processes was assessed. Quiescent cultures were exposed to hypoxia (3% O(2)) and normoxia (18% O(2)) in a serum-free medium with NG or HG, and cel...

Mast cell activation is a characteristic feature of chronic inflammation, a condition that may lead to fibrosis as a result of increased collagen synthesis by fibroblasts. We have investigated the potential of tryptase, the major protease of human mast cells, to stimulate collagen synthesis in the human lung fibroblast cell line MRC-5. Tryptase was isolated from human lung tissue by ion-exchang...

The addition of human recombinant interleukin-1beta (IL-1beta) to cultures of lapine articular chondrocytes provoked the synthesis of large amounts of NO and reduced the production of type-II collagen. NG-Monomethyl-l-arginine (L-NMA), an inhibitor of NO synthase, strongly suppressed the production of NO and partially relieved the inhibition of collagen synthesis in response to IL-1beta. The NO...

Mast cell activation is a characteristic feature of chronic inflammation, a condition that may lead to fibrosis as a result of increased collagen synthesis by fibroblasts. We have investigated the potential of tryptase, the major protease of human mast cells, to stimulate collagen synthesis in the human lung fibroblast cell line MRC-5. Tryptase was isolated from human lung tissue by ion-exchang...

Introduction: A fundamental challenge of cartilage tissue engineering has been the inability to promote collagen synthesis up to native levels [1]. In contrast, recent protocols have demonstrated that glycosaminoglycans can be synthesized to native levels in 4 to 6 weeks of in vitro culture [2]. We hypothesize that rapid GAG synthesis may be an impediment to collagen synthesis, possibly by alte...

Long-standing diabetes can result in the development of a cardiomyopathy, which can be accompanied by myocardial fibrosis. Whereas exposure of cultured kidney and skin fibroblasts to high glucose (HG) is known to increase collagen synthesis, little is known about cardiac fibroblasts (CF). Therefore, we determined the influence of HG on CF functions, and the effects of losartan and vitamin E in ...