I am doing in vitro matrix degradation assay with Enatmoeba histolytica and I observe different behavior of the pathogen towards two different components of the ECM viz Fibronectin and collagen type I. The pathogen infects the intestine and in severe infections can breach the mucosal lining of the gut and escape to the liver causing liver abscess but still persons infected with it can also act as asymptomatic carriers and some people show severe infection with the infection flaring up and causing massive tissue damage.
So, can the ECM composition trigger such kind of response, which can vary from one person to the other?
In case of human blood vessels a common finding is the age-related progressively lower solubilization of collagen by pepsin treatment. Age is apparently the first inter-individual variable to normalize by experimental investigation of human collagen resistance to protease degradation.
Thank you Michel. could you please also send me the link for the reference.
In addition to age-related increased collagen resistance to collagenase degradation (Hamlin Cr & Kohn RR, BBA 1971; 236:458-467) a similar increased resistance to pepsin solubilisation has also been reported for human vascular collagen (Sakata S & Takebayashi C, Atherosclerosis 1995; 116:63-75). In a recent paper (Vafaie F et al, Aging Cell 2014; 13: 121-130) the effect of progressive age-related resistance of collagen type I to proteolysis has also been investigated.
Dear Michel,
Do you have any information about the possibility of varying ECM composition between individuals. Do u think ECM can vary with age and between gender and also can it vary from individual to individual?
It is widely accepted that the relative proportion of and expression of single ECM components is varying with age. However single components are supposed to be mostly invariant with respect to different individuals. Otherwise major post-translational modifications have to be taken into account like maturation of physiological as well as increase of abnormal cross-links following age-related glycation processes.
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