BME Seminar Series: Joseph Orgel, Associate Professor of Biology and Biomedical Engineering, Illinois Institute of Technology

Dr. Joseph Orgel will present "How Collagen Structure and Remodeling Influences Cellular Interaction"

Title: "How Collagen Structure and Remodeling Influences Cellular Interaction"

 

ABSTRACT

The fibrous collagens are fundamental constituents of the Extracellular Matrix (ECM) of animals, forming the structural basis of all known mammalian connective tissues and organ systems. These molecules form complex assemblies whose structure and organization help determine the behavior of cells in health and disease. This is particularly true at what may be the most significant aspect of collagen structure from a cellular point of view, at the intermediate sub-fibrillar and at fibril surface levels (i.e. collagens molecular packing) where many important biological processes occur in growth, development and disease. These include but are not limited to: fibrillogenesis, tissue remolding and in forming the scaffolding upon which organ systems, bones, cartilage, etc., i.e. the animal body, are built upon. Using our data obtained from the structures of the type I and II collagen microfibril and fibrils, it is possible to map the amino acid chemistry, ligand binding data and other observations onto the defining shape modality of the fibrillar collagen ECM. The analysis of these data provides significant insight into the nature of collagen fibril - ligand interactions involving cell adhesion and matrix organization and remodeling.