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Updated: Oct 25, 2025

The Mechanics of Poro-Elastic Contractile Actomyosin Networks As a Model System of the Cell Cytoskeleton
Published on: March 10, 2023
Structural studies of elastic fibre and microfibrillar proteins
Mukti Singh1, Mark Becker1, Alan R F Godwin1
1Wellcome Centre for Cell-Matrix Research, Division of Cell-Matrix Biology and Regenerative Medicine, School of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health, University of Manchester, Manchester Academic Health Science Centre, Manchester M13 9PT, UK.
Abstract:
Elastic tissues owe their functional properties to the composition of their extracellular matrices, particularly the range of extracellular, multidomain extensible elastic fibre and microfibrillar proteins. These proteins include elastin, fibrillin, latent TGFβ binding proteins (LTBPs) and collagens, where their biophysical and biochemical properties not only give the matrix structural integrity, but also play a vital role in the mechanisms that underlie tissue homeostasis. Thus far structural information regarding the structure and hierarchical assembly of these molecules has been challenging and the resolution has been limited due to post-translational modification and their multidomain nature leading to flexibility, which together result in conformational and structural heterogeneity. In this review, we describe some of the matrix proteins found in elastic fibres and the new emerging techniques that can shed light on their structure and dynamic properties.
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