Renal fibrosis, particularly tubulointerstitial fibrosis, is the common final outcome of almost
all progressive chronic kidney diseases. Renal fibrosis is also a reliable predictor of …

Current evidence highlights the ability of adaptor (or scaffold) proteins to create signalling
platforms that drive cellular transformation upon integrin-dependent adhesion and growth …

One of the hallmarks of cancers is the silencing of tumour suppressor genes and pathways.
The Hippo tumour suppressor pathway is inactivated in many types of cancers, leading to …

Bilirubin is the end product of heme catabolism formed during a process that involves
oxidation-reduction reactions and conserves iron body stores. Unconjugated …

The formation of tissues and organs requires cells to adhere to each other and/or to migrate
and polarize in contact with components of the extracellular matrix. The connection between …

Integrin-linked kinase (ILK) is a multifunctional molecular actor in cell–matrix interactions,
cell adhesion, and anchorage-dependent cell growth. It combines functions of a signal …

Tendons are specialized tissues composed primarily of load-responsive fibroblasts
(tenocytes) embedded in a collagen-rich extracellular matrix. Habitual mechanical loading …

The α5β1 integrin is a key fibronectin (FN) receptor that binds to RGD-containing peptides to
mediate cell adhesion. We previously reported that α5β1 integrin promotes osteogenic …

Integrin-linked kinase (ILK) is a widely expressed and evolutionally conserved component of
cell–extracellular matrix (ECM) adhesions. Although initially named as a kinase, ILK …

Versican is a proteoglycan that has many different roles in tissue homeostasis and
inflammation. The biochemical structure comprises four different types of the core protein …