The processes of cell adhesion and migration, as well as specific morphogenetic events, underlie normal and abnormal embryonic and fetal development. Specific molecules that mediate these processes and the molecules that regulate their functions are being identified and characterized. Fibronectin and related molecules appear to be centrally involved in normal morphogenesis, e.g. in somite segmentation and neural crest cell migration. Key regions of fibronectin involved in cell adhesion were characterized by site-directed mutagenesis, monoclonal antibody dissection, and synthetic peptide inhibitors. Besides the Arg- Gly-Asp adhesive recognition sequence, two other polypeptide regions were needed to mediate effective cell adhesion. Such synergistic sequences were also necessary for fibronectin-mediated cell migration and for successful assembly of an extracellular fibronectin matrix. A distinct region of fibronectin involved in cell-type specific adhesion was characterized as Leu-Asp-Val. Type XII collagen was completely sequenced and was found to contain an Arg-Gly-Asp site plus characteristic fibronectin-tenascin family sequences. Comparative functional analyses of such related cell-interaction molecules and intermolecular chimeras will be used to define further the mechanisms of cell adhesion and migration. Mechanisms of action of molecules regulating migration and morphogenesis will also be nvestigated in detail.
| Daley, William P; Matsumoto, Kazue; Doyle, Andrew D et al. (2017) Btbd7 is essential for region-specific epithelial cell dynamics and branching morphogenesis in vivo. Development 144:2200-2211 |
| Wei, Cindy; Larsen, Melinda; Hoffman, Matthew P et al. (2007) Self-organization and branching morphogenesis of primary salivary epithelial cells. Tissue Eng 13:721-35 |
| Green, J Angelo; Yamada, Kenneth M (2007) Three-dimensional microenvironments modulate fibroblast signaling responses. Adv Drug Deliv Rev 59:1293-8 |
| Stepp, Mary Ann; Liu, Yueyuan; Pal-Ghosh, Sonali et al. (2007) Reduced migration, altered matrix and enhanced TGFbeta1 signaling are signatures of mouse keratinocytes lacking Sdc1. J Cell Sci 120:2851-63 |
| Moon, Hye-Sung; Even-Ram, Sharona; Kleinman, Hynda K et al. (2006) Zyxin is upregulated in the nucleus by thymosin beta4 in SiHa cells. Exp Cell Res 312:3425-31 |
| Devadas, Krishnakumar; Boykins, Robert A; Hardegen, Neil J et al. (2006) Selective side-chain modification of cysteine and arginine residues blocks pathogenic activity of HIV-1-Tat functional peptides. Peptides 27:611-21 |
| Larsen, Melinda; Artym, Vira V; Green, J Angelo et al. (2006) The matrix reorganized: extracellular matrix remodeling and integrin signaling. Curr Opin Cell Biol 18:463-71 |
| Larsen, Melinda; Wei, Cindy; Yamada, Kenneth M (2006) Cell and fibronectin dynamics during branching morphogenesis. J Cell Sci 119:3376-84 |
| Even-Ram, Sharona; Artym, Vira; Yamada, Kenneth M (2006) Matrix control of stem cell fate. Cell 126:645-7 |
| Even-Ram, Sharona; Yamada, Kenneth M (2005) Cell migration in 3D matrix. Curr Opin Cell Biol 17:524-32 |
Showing the most recent 10 out of 58 publications
