Matrix Biology Special Issues

Basement Membranes, Biology and Pathology

Basement membranes (BMs) are specialized sheets of extracellular matrix that underlie epithelia and endothelia and coat muscle and fat cells. They are complex composite structures, consisting of myriad components that interact through both covalent and non-covalent interactions. BM structure and composition, while sharing core laminin, nidogen, collagen-IV and proteoglycan components involved in assembly, are otherwise tissue-dependent, resulting in ‘smart’-scaffolds that can regulate cellular behavior through signal modification or mechanical control. Additionally, BMs are not static structures, but show complex dynamics during development and are altered during aging and disease. In this special issue on BMs, we welcome submissions of original research articles, reviews, and perspectives on BM assembly and function during both normal physiology and disease contexts

Guest editors:
Prof. Peter Dana Yurchenco, Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School New Brunswick
Prof. Brian Stramer, King's College London
Assistant Prof. Yoshihiro Ishikawa, University of California San Francisco Department of Ophthalmology

Manuscript submission information: Short Special Issue Name VSI: Basement Membranes

Get full submission information here: https://www.editorialmanager.com/matbio/default.aspx

Submission deadline : October 31, 2024

FIBROBLASTS AND THE MICROENVIRONMENT

ASMB is pleased to partner with Elsevier to design a special issue of Matrix Biology. The focus of this special call is on the fibroblast and the microenvironment. The tissue microenvironment consists of a dynamic cellular population and non-cellular components, which form a multifaceted regulatory network that helps to maintain the homeostasis of an organ. Under pathological conditions, the microenvironment undergoes alterations that can either sustain, improve, or worsen the injured/diseased tissues. We welcome submissions of original research articles, reviews, and perspectives on how the fibroblast microenvironment affects the extracellular matrix, cell-cell interactions, soluble factors, oxygen tension, and mechanical forces. Specifically, we are interested in manuscripts that explore the role of the ECM in regulating cell function in health or disease and how this can be targeted as a therapeutic strategy. We also encourage submissions that examine direct and indirect contact and/or signaling molecules that regulate ECM development, homeostasis, or repair in health or disease. We are interested in manuscripts that explore the regulation of cell behavior by secreted growth factors, the effects of oxygen tension on cell survival and function, as well as those that investigate how mechanical forces affect cell behavior and contribute to tissue development and remodeling. The overall aim of this special call is to highlight the importance of the fibroblast microenvironment and its effects on cell behavior during homeostasis, tissue development, and disease progression, in addition to fibroblast emergence as a novel therapeutic target.

Meet our Guest Editors for this special issue: