Airway smooth muscle remodels pericellular collagen fibrils: Implications for proliferation

Abstract

Airway wall remodeling comprises a broad range of structural changes including increases in the volume of airway smooth muscle (ASM) and fibrillar collagen. The impact of fibrillar collagen remodeling on ASM proliferation was investigated. Human ASM cultured on type I fibrillar collagen remodeled the collagen substrate by both degradation (collagenolysis) and formation of networks comprised of thicker reticular collagen fibrils (fibrillogenesis). In cultures maintained on fibrillar collagen, the levels of matrix metalloproteases (MMPs) -1 and -14 mRNA and active MMP-2 were higher than in cultures maintained on non-fibrillar type I collagen (gelatin) or plastic. Although there was no apparent..