Question

In animal cells, what is the Extracellular Matrix (ECM)? I am confused on the Extracellular Matrix part...

Answer 1

That is an extracellular part of animal tissue that gives structural support to cells animal cells i mean

Answer 2

so it is the cytoskeleton

Answer 3

the ECM is not exclusively the cytoskeleton

Answer 4

http://finedrafts.com/files/biology/campbellbio9th/CH%2006%20A%20Tour%20of%20the%20Cell.pdf

Answer 5

I know what I have studied,I don't know more what I haven't.. better read on wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extracellular_matrix

Answer 6

you're better off checking the link I provided. It has the cell's structure and functions in summary without leaving important details, but also without being too complicatedly specific.

Answer 7

Or read you book if you have ..see what it says...@Asya

Answer 8

your*

Answer 9

The main ingredients of the ECM are glycoproteins and other carbohydrate-containing molecules secreted by the cells. (Recall that glycoproteins are proteins with covalently bonded carbohydrate, usually short chains of sugars.) The most abundant glycoprotein in the ECM of most animal cells is collagen, which forms strong fibers outside the cells.

In fact, collagen accounts for about 40% of the total protein in the human body. The collagen fibers are embedded in a network woven out of proteoglycans secreted A proteoglycan molecule consists of a small core protein with many carbohydrate chains covalently attached, so that it may be up to 95% carbohydrate. Large proteoglycan complexes can form when hundreds of proteoglycan molecules become noncovalently attached to a single long polysaccharide molecule, . Some
cells are attached to the ECM by ECM glycoproteins such as fibronectin. Fibronectin and other ECM proteins bind to cell-surface receptor proteins called
integrins that are built into the plasma membrane. Integrins span the membrane and bind on their cytoplasmic side to associated proteins attached to microfilaments of the cytoskeleton. The name integrin
is based on the word
integrate
: Integrins are in a posi-
tion to transmit signals between the ECM and the cytoskele-
ton and thus to integrate changes occurring outside and
inside the cell.
Current research on fibronectin, other ECM molecules,
and integrins is revealing the influential role of the extracel-
lular matrix in the lives of cells. By communicating with a
cell through integrins, the ECM can regulate a cell’s behavior.
For example, some cells in a developing embryo migrate
along specific pathways by matching the orientation of their
microfilaments to the “grain” of fibers in the extracellular
matrix. Researchers have also learned that the extracellular
matrix around a cell can influence the activity of genes in the
nucleus. Information about the ECM probably reaches the
nucleus by a combination of mechanical and chemical sig-
naling pathways. Mechanical signaling involves fibronectin,
integrins, and microfilaments of the cytoskeleton. Changes
in the cytoskeleton may in turn trigger chemical signaling

Answer 10

Sorry i was offline.... thank you both!!! I don't have an AP textbook yet!!!