The extracellular matrix (ECM) is a complex substrate that is involved in and influences a spectrum of behaviours such as growth and differentiation and is the basis for the structure of tissues. Although a characteristic of all metazoans, the ECM has elaborated into a variety of tissues unique to vertebrates, such as bone, tendon and cartilage. Here we review recent advances in our understanding of the molecular evolution of the ECM. Furthermore, we demonstrate that ECM genes represent a pivotal family of proteins the evolution of which appears to have played an important role in the evolution of vertebrates.
Download full-text PDF |
Source |
|---|---|
| http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2676697 | PMC |
| http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2613.2008.00637.x | DOI Listing |
Publication Analysis
Top Keywords
Similar Publications
is the causative agent of the venereal disease trichomoniasis which infects men and women globally and is associated with serious outcomes during pregnancy and cancers of the human reproductive tract. Trichomonads parasitize a range of hosts in addition to humans including birds, livestock, and domesticated animals. Recent genetic analysis of trichomonads recovered from columbid birds has provided evidence that these parasite species undergo frequent host-switching, and that a current epoch spillover event from columbids likely gave rise to in humans.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFProspective identification of extracellular triacylglycerol hydrolase with conserved amino acids in 's high G+C genomic dataset.
Biotechnol Rep (Amst)
March 2025
Department of Sciences, Faculty of Science and Technology, Suan Sunandha Rajabhat University, Bangkok, 10300, Thailand.
Extracellular triacylglycerol hydrolases (ETH) play a critical role for microorganisms, acting as essential tools for lipid breakdown and survival in challenging environments. The pursuit of more effective ETH genes and enzymes through evolution holds significant potential for enhancing living conditions. This study employs a proteogenomic approach to identify high G+C ETH in a notable Gram-positive bacterium, .
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInvestigations into the growth and formation of biofilm by at temperatures encountered during infection.
Biofilm
June 2025
Infectious Bacterial Diseases Research Unit, USDA Agriculture Research Service, National Animal Disease Center, Ames, IA, USA.
The genus comprises unique atypical spirochete bacteria that includes the etiological agent of leptospirosis, a globally important zoonosis. Biofilms are microecosystems composed of microorganisms embedded in a self-produced matrix that offers protection against hostile factors. Leptospires form biofilms in rice fields and unsanitary urban areas, and while colonizing rodent kidneys.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEvolutionary study and structural basis of proton sensing by Mus GPR4 and Xenopus GPR4.
Cell
December 2024
Key Laboratory Experimental Teratology of the Ministry of Education, New Cornerstone Science Laboratory, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Shandong University, Jinan, Shandong 250012, China; NHC Key Laboratory of Otorhinolaryngology, Qilu Hospital of Shandong University, Advanced Medical Research Institute, Shandong University, Jinan, China; Department of Physiology and Pathophysiology, State Key Laboratory of Vascular Homeostasis and Remodeling, Peking University, Beijing, China. Electronic address:
Animals have evolved pH-sensing membrane receptors, such as G-protein-coupled receptor 4 (GPR4), to monitor pH changes related to their physiology and generate adaptive reactions. However, the evolutionary trajectory and structural mechanism of proton sensing by GPR4 remain unresolved. Here, we observed a positive correlation between the optimal pH of GPR4 activity and the blood pH range across different species.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDifferential cell architecture and microenvironmental responses of pretumoral and tumoral cellular models exposed to coverslip-induced hypoxia.
Histochem Cell Biol
January 2025
Departamento de Diagnóstico en Patología y Medicina Oral, Facultad de Odontología, Universidad de La República, General Las Heras 1925, Montevideo, Uruguay.
The tumor microenvironment is an altered milieu that imposes multiple selective pressures leading to the survival and dissemination of aggressive and fit tumor cell subpopulations. How pre-tumoral and tumoral cells respond to changes in their microenvironment will determine the subsequent evolution of the tumor. In this study, we have subjected pre-tumoral and tumoral cells to coverslip-induced hypoxia, which recapitulates the intracellular hypoxia and extracellular acidification characteristic of the early tumor microenvironment, and we have used a combination of quantitative phase microscopy and epifluorescence to analyze diverse cellular responses to this altered environment.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWant AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?
Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!