Extracellular Matrix (ECM) 2

Learning Outcomes
• Appreciate how the extracellular matrix functions to connect to cells and form
connective tissue
• Understand how ECM proteins such as collagen are produced, secreted from
fibroblast cells
• Identify that vitamin C is essential in collagen biosynthesis and the consequenc
vitamin C deficiency
• Know examples of defective collagen function in medicine e.g. scurvy, epiderm
bullosa (EB)
• Illustrate how integrin molecules link the extracellular matrix to the cytoskeleton
fibronectin and other adaptor molecules
• Be able to describe Glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) and their role in tissue functio
• Identify the role of hemi-desmosomes in epithelial cell function
• Connect previous lectures on cytoskeleton, epithelium and connective tissue
-Additional Reading: Essential Cell Biology 4th Ed. Chapter 20 p688-701

, How do cells attach to the extracellular matrix
-cells attach poorly to bare collagen, so an adaptor molecule called Fibronecti
needed
-cells bind Fibronectin via transmembrane receptors called Integrins

-the Integrins attach to the actin cytoskeleton and thus give the cell its tensile

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collagen FN n
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e
PM g
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Actin
microfilaments