Probing Potential Mechanisms of Collagen Crimp Formation During Embryonic Tendon Development.
Tochka, Zachary.
2015
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Abstract: Tendons
are dense connective tissues that are responsible for transmitting muscle mechanical
forces to bone. The primary component of the tendon ECM is collagen type I, which gives
the tendon its strength and elasticity. The collagen is made up of fibers that run
parallel to the long axis of the tendon and exhibit a crimped (wavy) morphology. This
crimped morphology is responsible ... read morefor the non-linear portion of the tendon's
stress-strain curve. Intrinsic factors such as age and site location and extrinsic
factors like exercise and injury can cause changes to the collagen fiber crimp
morphology, in turn leading to disrupted function and increased risk of rupture. Tendon
tissue engineering and regeneration strategies do not reliably create the distinctive
collagen crimp critical for tendon function, likely due to a lack of knowledge about the
mechanisms of its formation during normal tissue development. This motivated our current
study to understand how collagen fiber crimp forms during embryonic tendon development.
This work first focuses on trying to characterize changes in the collagen fiber crimp
morphology during early stages of embryonic chick tendon. Next, the work shifts to
observing how the cell contractile machinery through the actin cytoskeletal network may
play a role in collagen fiber crimp
formation.
Thesis (M.S.)--Tufts University, 2015.
Submitted to the Dept. of Biomedical Engineering.
Advisor: Catherine Kuo.
Committee: Mitchell McVey, and Qiaobing Xu.
Keyword: Biomedical engineering.read less - ID:
- 1v53k858p
- Component ID:
- tufts:21564
- To Cite:
- TARC Citation Guide EndNote
