• Biomedical Science Letters
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.103-110
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• 2014

Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs), also called matrixins, function in the extracellular environment of cells and degrade both matrix and non-matrix proteins. They are multidomain proteins and their activities are regulated by tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinases (TIMPs). The uncontrolled regulation of MMPs is involved in various pathologic processes, such as tumor invasion, migration, host immune escape, extravasation, angiogenesis, and tumor growth. Especially, matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) is one of the metastasis-accelerating genes involved in metastasis of various types of human cancers. Here, we review the member of MMP family and discusses their domain structure and function, enzyme activation, the mechanism of inhibition by TIMPs. In particular, we focus the role of MMP-9 in relation to cancer metastasis.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.29 no.10
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• pp.1398-1406
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• 2016

In general, the seminiferous tubule basement membrane (STBM), comprising laminin, collagen IV, perlecan, and entactin, plays an important role in self-renewal and spermatogenesis of spermatogonial stem cells (SSCs) in the testis. However, among the diverse extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins constituting the STBM, the mechanism by which each regulates SSC fate has yet to be revealed. Accordingly, we investigated the effects of various ECM proteins on the maintenance of the undifferentiated state of SSCs in pigs. First, an extracellular signaling-free culture system was optimized, and alkaline phosphatase (AP) activity and transcriptional regulation of SSC-specific genes were analyzed in porcine SSCs (pSSCs) cultured for 1, 3, and 5 days on non-, laminin- and collagen IV-coated Petri dishes in the optimized culture system. The microenvironment consisting of glial cell-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF)-supplemented mouse embryonic stem cell culture medium (mESCCM) (GDNF-mESCCM) demonstrated the highest efficiency in the maintenance of AP activity. Moreover, under the established extracellular signaling-free microenvironment, effective maintenance of AP activity and SSC-specific gene expression was detected in pSSCs experiencing laminin-derived signaling. From these results, we believe that laminin can serve as an extracellular niche factor required for the in vitro maintenance of undifferentiated pSSCs in the establishment of the pSSC culture system.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.197-203
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• 2011

Lactobacilli are normal constituents of the intestinal microbiota, and some strains show the capacity to bind to extracellular matrix proteins and components of the mucosal layer, which represents an adaptation to persist in this niche. A shotgun phage-display library of Lactobacillus casei BL23 was constructed and screened for peptides able to bind to fibronectin and collagen. Clones showing binding to these proteins were isolated, which encoded overlapping fragments of a putative transcriptional regulator (LCABL_29260), a hypothetical protein exclusively found in the L. casei/rhamnosus group (LCABL_01820), and a putative phage-related endolysin (LCABL_13470). The construction of different glutathione S-transferase (GST) fusions confirmed the binding activity and demonstrated that the three identified proteins could interact with fibronectin, fibrinogen, and collagen. The results illustrate the utility of phage display for the isolation of putative adhesins in lactobacilli. However, it remains to be determined whether the primary function of these proteins actually is adhesion to mucosal surfaces.

• BMB Reports
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• v.46 no.3
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• pp.139-150
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• 2013

The ADAM and ADAMTS families, also called adamalysins belong to an important group of extracellular matrix proteins. The ADAMs family belong to both the transmembrane and secreted proteins, while ADAMTS family only contains secreted forms. Adamalysins play an important role in the cell phenotype regulation via their activities in signaling pathways, cell adhesion and migration. The human proteome contains 21 ADAM, and 19 ADAMTS proteins, which are involved in extracellular matrix remodeling, shedding of various substrates such as: adhesion ligands, growth factors, their receptors and diverse cytokines. Recent studies provide evidence that adamalysins play a crucial role in colorectal cancer (CRC) etiopathogenesis. It seems possible that adamalysins might be used as CRC prediction markers or potential pharmaceutical targets.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.48 no.6
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• pp.580-587
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• 2005

New evidence is emerging that airway smooth muscle(ASM) may act as an immunomodulatory cell by providing pro-inflammatory cytokines and chemokines, polypeptide growth factors, extracellular matrix proteins, cell adhesion receptors and co-stimulatory molecules. ASM can promote the formation of the interstitial extracellular matrix, and potentially contribute to the alterations within the extracellular matrix in asthma. In addition, extracellular matrix components can alter the proliferative, survival, and cytoskeletal synthetic function of ASM cells through integrin-directed signaling. Increased ASM mass is one of the most important features of the airway wall remodeling process in asthma. Three different mechanisms may contribute to the increased ASM mass : cell proliferation, increased migration and decreased rate of apoptosis. The major signaling pathways of cell proliferation activated by ASM mitogens are those dependent on extracellular signal-regulated kinase and phosphoinositide 3'-kinase. The key signaling mechanisms of cell migration have been identified as the p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase and the p21-activated kinase 1 pathways. ASM cells contain ${\beta}2$-adrenergic receptors and glucocorticoid receptors. They may represent a key target for ${\beta}2$-adrenergic receptor agonist/corticosteroid interactions which have antiproliferative activity against a broad spectrum of mitogens.

• Biomedical Science Letters
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• v.12 no.3
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• pp.185-190
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• 2006

Lysyl oxidase (LOX) catalyzes the lysine-derived cross-links of fibrillar collagens and elastin in the extracellular matrix. Recent molecular cloning has revealed existence of a LOX family consisting of LOX and four lysyl oxidase-like proteins (LOXL, LOXL2, LOXL3 and LOXL4). Pathological conditions associated with impaired LOX activity in several heritable and acquired disorders lead to severe structural and functional abnormalities of cardiovascular tissues, such as occlusion of coronary arteries and aneurysms, suggesting an essential role for the LOX family proteins in the maintenance of the cardiovascular system. However, the specific roles of the lysyl oxidase-like proteins in normal and pathological conditions of the cardiovascular tissues have not been established yet. Here, I report that LOXL3, a novel member of the LOX family, is predominantly expressed in the aorta, with an amine oxidase activity toward collagen and elastin, suggesting an essential role of LOXL3 in the development and maintenance of the aorta.

• Journal of Embryo Transfer
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• v.8 no.2
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• pp.83-90
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• 1993

To investigate the effect of extracellular matrix proteins on the in vitro development of ethanol-induced parthenogenetic eggs of ICR strain mice, those were cultured in vitro in fibronectin, gelatin, or collagen precoated culture dishes containing 1.5 ml of NaH-C03$_3$-BMOC-3 medium at 37$^{\circ}C$ for 96 hrs. under the atmosphere of 5% $CO_2$ and 95% air. Fibronectin, gelatin, or collagen significantly(P$\pm$1.4, 45.4i1.4, and 44.8$\pm$O.9, respectively. And the diameter of those eggs ranged 104.6$\pm$1.9, 102.8$\pm$2.3, and 103.4$\pm$O.8 $\mu$m, respectively.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.17 no.7
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• pp.1198-1203
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• 2007

Conidial adhesion and appressorium formation of Magnaporthe oryzae on the rice surface are important early events in the infection process. As an initiative step to understand the mechanisms underlying these cellular processes at a biochemical level, the effect of a human fibronectin antibody (HFA) and RGD peptides on conidial adhesion and appressorium formation was evaluated. HFA inhibited conidial adhesion and appressorium formation in a dosage-dependent manner. RGD peptides also inhibited these cellular events. Conidial adhesion and appressorium formation inhibited by RGD peptides were restored by chemicals involved in the cyclic AMP-dependent signaling pathway. These results suggest that extracellular matrix proteins might be involved in conidial adhesion and appressorium formation through integrin-like receptor mediation and modulation of cAMP-dependent signaling in the cells.

• International Journal of Oral Biology
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• v.32 no.3
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• pp.93-101
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• 2007

Cell behavior of the transformed cells is known to affect by interaction with extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins and integrin. To investigate the alterations of both integrin expression and cell-matrix interaction during neoplastic conversion of human oral kerationcytes, we studied expression levels of integrin subunits by flow cytometry and cellular responses to the ECM proteins in normal human oral keratinocytes (NHOKs), HPV-immortalized HOK-16B line, and three oral cancer cell lines established from HOK-16B line, CTHOK-16B-BaP, CTHOK-16B-DMBA, and CTHOK-16B-Dexa lines. The expression levels of ${\alpha}\;and\;{\beta}$ integrin subunits were shown decreased tendency in human oral keratinocytes undergoing immortalization and tumorigenic transformation except CTHOK-16B-DMBA line tested. Although ${\alpha}v{\beta}6$ integrin is known to be highly expressed in squamous cell carcinomas, and the altered integrin expression is suspected to be associated with cellular carcinogenesis, ${\alpha}v$ integrin subunit and ${\alpha}v{\beta}6$ integrin did not express in oral cancer cell lines tested. Cell behavior to the ECM proteins in HOK-16B line was generally similar to that of exponentially proliferating NHOKs. The adhesion activity profiles of type I collagen were very similar to that of its laminin counterparts, but fibronectin showed minimal adhesion activity under our conditions compared to the BSA control. The ability of the CTHOK-16B-BaP line to spread upon type I collagen and laminin markedly decreased, but migration was notably increased on type I collagen. In contrast, CTHOK-16B-DMBA and CTHOK-16B-Dexa lines spread less but migrated more upon type I collagen than immortalized HOK-16B line. These data indicate that downregulation of integrin subunits causes the changes of cellular responses to the ECM proteins during neoplastic conversion of human oral keratinocytes, and that cellular responses to the ECM proteins in oral cancer cell lines established by exposing different carcinogens are variable according to chemical carcinogens treatment.

• Biomaterials and Biomechanics in Bioengineering
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• v.1 no.3
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• pp.163-174
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• 2014

The objective of this study is to prepare an artificial extracellular matrix (ECM) for cell culture by using polymer hydrogels. The polymer used is a cytocompatible water-soluble phospholipid polymer: poly[2-methacryloyloxyethyl phosphorylcholine (MPC)-n-butyl methacrylate-p-nitrophenyloxycarbonyl poly(ethylene oxide) methacrylate (MEONP)] (PMBN). The hydrogels are prepared using a cross-linking reaction between PMBN and diamine compounds, which can easily react to the MEONP moiety under mild conditions. The most favorable diamine is the bis(3-aminopropyl) poly(ethylene oxide) (APEO). The effects of cross-linking density and the chemical structure of cross-linking molecules on the mechanical properties of the hydrogel are evaluated. The storage modulus of the hydrogel is tailored by tuning the PMBN concentration and the MEONP/amino group ratio. The porous structure of the hydrogel networks depends not only on these parameters but also on the reaction temperature. We prepare a hydrogel with $40-50{\mu}m$ diameter pores and more than 90 wt% swelling. The permeation of proteins through the hydrogel increases dramatically with an increase in pore size. To induce cell adhesion, the cell-attaching oligopeptide, RGDS, is immobilized onto the hydrogel using MEONP residue. Bovine pulmonary artery endothelial cells (BPAECs) are cultured on the hydrogel matrix and are able to migrate into the artificial matrix. Hence, the RGDS-modified PMBN hydrogel matrix with cross-linked APEO functions as an artificial ECM for growing cells for applications in tissue engineering.