Defining the hierarchical organisation of collagen VI microfibrils at nanometre to micrometre length scales.

ABSTRACT: Extracellular matrix microfibrils are critical components of connective tissues with a wide range of mechanical and cellular signalling functions. Collagen VI is a heteromeric network-forming collagen which is expressed in tissues such as skin, lung, blood vessels and articular cartilage where it anchors cells into the matrix allowing for transduction of biochemical and mechanical signals. It is not understood how collagen VI is arranged into microfibrils or how these microfibrils are arranged into tissues. Therefore we have characterised the hierarchical organisation of collagen VI across multiple length scales. The frozen hydrated nanostructure of purified collagen VI microfibrils was reconstructed using cryo-TEM. The bead region has a compact hollow head and flexible tail regions linked

SUBMITTER: Godwin ARF 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5402720 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature