Functions of the basal lamina and ApoE in cerebral amyloid angiopathy

The basal lamina is a thin extracellular layer that lies underneath the cells and separates them from other tissues. The three layers of the basal lamina are lamina lucida, lamina densa and lamina reticularis. The basal lamina, a mixture of glycoproteins and collagen, provides an attachment site for the epithelium, separating it from underlying connective tissue. The framework of basal lamina has other essential proteins such as laminins mesh, perlecan, entactin, and type IV collagen.
Proteins...

Laminins are heterotrimeric proteins with high molecular mass found in the extracellular matrix. Each laminin molecule is composed of three chains, viz. alpha, beta, and gamma, coded by five, four, and three paralogous genes, respectively. Laminins are categories based on the compositions of the three chains.
In humans, the five forms of alpha chains are LAMA 1, LAMA 2, LAMA 3, LAMA 4, and LAMA 5. The four forms of beta chains are LAMB 1, LAMB 2, LAMB 3, and LAMB 4. The three forms of gamma...

Amyloid fibrils are aggregates of misfolded proteins.  Under most circumstances, misfolded proteins are either refolded by chaperone proteins or degraded by the proteasome. However, in the case of a mutation or a disease, these proteins can accumulate to form large clusters and often further assemble to form elongated fibers, called fibrils. 
Amyloid deposits were observed as early as 1639 in the liver and the spleen.   In 1854, Rudolph Virchow performed iodine staining,...

Overview

Type IV collagen is a 400 nm long, network-forming collagen that acts as a barrier between the epithelial and endothelial cells. Type IV collagen  forms the backbone of the basement membrane by scaffolding with laminin, entactin, proteoglycans, and fibronectin. Apart from rendering structural support to the basement membrane, it also helps entail signaling potentials necessary for both pathological and physiological functions.
A type IV collagen molecule has six alpha chains which can...

Rapidly dividing tumors, embryos, and wounded tissues require more oxygen than usual, lowering the oxygen concentration in the blood. At low oxygen or hypoxic conditions, an oxygen-sensitive transcription factor called the hypoxia-inducible factor 1 or HIF1 is activated. HIF1 is a dimeric protein of alpha (ɑ) and beta (β) subunits.  Under optimal oxygen conditions, HIF1β is present in the nucleus while HIF1ɑ remains in the cytosol. HIF1ɑ is hydroxylated by prolyl...