Biosynthesis and assembly of the Collagen IV-like protein Pericardin in .

In , formation of the cardiac extracellular matrix (ECM) starts during embryogenesis. Assembly and incorporation of structural proteins such as Collagen IV, Pericardin, and Laminin A, B1, and B2 into the cardiac ECM is critical to the maintenance of heart integrity and functionality and, therefore, to longevity of the animal. The cardiac ECM connects the heart tube with the alary muscles; thus, the ECM contributes to a flexible positioning of the heart within the animal's body.

Distinct domains in the matricellular protein Lonely heart are crucial for cardiac extracellular matrix formation and heart function in .

The biomechanical properties of extracellular matrices (ECMs) are critical to many biological processes, including cell-cell communication and cell migration and function. The correct balance between stiffness and elasticity is essential to the function of numerous tissues, including blood vessels and the lymphatic system, and depends on ECM constituents (the "matrisome") and on their level of interconnection. However, despite its physiological relevance, the matrisome composition and organization remain poorly understood.

On the Morphology of the Drosophila Heart.

The circulatory system of represents an easily amenable genetic model whose analysis at different levels, , from single molecules up to functional anatomy, has provided new insights into general aspects of cardiogenesis, heart physiology and cardiac aging, to name a few examples. In recent years, the heart has also attracted the attention of researchers in the field of biomedicine. This development is mainly due to the fact that several genes causing human heart disease are also present in , where they play the same or similar roles in heart development, maintenance or physiology as their respective counterparts in humans.

Deciphering the genetic programme triggering timely and spatially-regulated chitin deposition.

Organ and tissue formation requires a finely tuned temporal and spatial regulation of differentiation programmes. This is necessary to balance sufficient plasticity to undergo morphogenesis with the acquisition of the mature traits needed for physiological activity. Here we addressed this issue by analysing the deposition of the chitinous extracellular matrix of Drosophila, an essential element of the cuticle (skin) and respiratory system (tracheae) in this insect.

Tramtrack is genetically upstream of genes controlling tracheal tube size in Drosophila.

The Drosophila transcription factor Tramtrack (Ttk) is involved in a wide range of developmental decisions, ranging from early embryonic patterning to differentiation processes in organogenesis. Given the wide spectrum of functions and pleiotropic effects that hinder a comprehensive characterisation, many of the tissue specific functions of this transcription factor are only poorly understood. We recently discovered multiple roles of Ttk in the development of the tracheal system on the morphogenetic level.