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The (Wellcome Trust Centre for Cell-Matrix Research ) at the University of Manchester pursues advances in the understanding of extracellular matrix (ECM) biology and its contribution to human diseases. The Centre was established in 1995 and Professor Charles Streuli is the Centre's Director. Cell-matrix research is all about how cells interact with their local microenvironment. These interactions are necessary both to control how cells actually behave and to build tissues, which are complex collections of many cell types. In our work, we are determining the molecular events that determine how cells and matrix work together. Our discoveries are illuminating new principles about how multicellular life is organised. The extracellular matrix is the material outside of cells that creates the three dimensional structure of tissues and gives tissues their solidity. This matrix, comprising a remarkable 70% of proteins and complex carbohydrates in the body, is crucial for nearly every aspect of the way that cells behave. For example, it is essential for cell survival, cell division, cell movements and determining the exact functions that are carried out by almost all cells in the body. Both chemical interactions between the matrix proteins and cells, and mechanical forces that arise within the matrix, determine cell behaviour, and the matrix also controls our immune systems. A key aim for the Centre is to clarify the roles of adhesion molecules, found on the exterior of cells and how they bind to and organise the ECM. These interactions ultimately affect cell behaviour and are of huge importance medically: defects in cell-ECM interactions underpin many diseases, including cancer, diabetes, heart disease, osteoarthritis, inflammatory disorders, some forms of blindness, and many genetically inherited conditions. ==Research Directions== Our work focuses on three specific areas in cell-matrix biology that we believe will lead to a paradigm shift in our understanding of Development, Ageing, and Chronic disease. These are: i) Cellular Matrix Microenvironment - We are using state-of-the-art approaches to uncover how altered 3D ECM organisation and cell-matrix interactions impact on cell programing and behaviour in normal tissue homeostasis and disease pathologies. ii) Matrix Immunobiology - We are focussing on novel areas of how ECM controls the innate and adaptive immune system, host-parasite interactions, and the immunomodulatory function of mesenchymal stem cells, and how this can be exploited for therapy. iii) Mechanobiology of Matrix - We are designing new equipment and techniques to reveal how the physical properties of ECM are determined, how they regulate cell behaviour and the formation of tissues from the nano through to the macro scale, and how altered tissue stiffness impacts on pathology. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Wellcome Trust Centre for Cell-Matrix Research」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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