Spatio-Temporal Changes of Extracellular Matrix (ECM) Stiffness in the Development of the Leech Hirudo verbana.

ABSTRACT: The invertebrate leech Hirudo verbana represents a powerful experimental animal model for improving the knowledge about the functional interaction between the extracellular matrix (ECM) and cells within the tissue microenvironment (TME), and the key role played by ECM stiffness during development and growth. Indeed, the medicinal leech is characterized by a simple anatomical organization reproducing many aspects of the basic biological processes of vertebrates and in which a rapid spatiotemporal development is well established and easily assessed. Our results show that ECM structural organization, as well as the amount of fibrillar and non-fibrillar collagen are deeply different from hatching leeches to adult ones. In addition, the changes in ECM remodelling occurring during the dif

SUBMITTER: Pulze L 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9787456 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature