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Tough bundles of collagen called collagen fibers are a major component of the extracellular matrix that supports most tissues and gives cells structure from the outside, but collagen is also found inside certain cells. Collagen has great tensile strength, and is the main component of fascia, cartilage, ligaments, tendons, bone and skin.
A fibroblast is a type of biological cell typically with a spindle shape [1] that synthesizes the extracellular matrix and collagen, [2] produces the structural framework for animal tissues, and plays a critical role in wound healing. [3] Fibroblasts are the most common cells of connective tissue in animals.
[20] [21] Although there is no dense collagen network in adipose tissue, groups of adipose cells are kept together by collagen fibers and collagen sheets in order to keep fat tissue under compression in place (for example, the sole of the foot). Both the ground substance and proteins (fibers) create the matrix for connective tissue.
Fibronectins are glycoproteins that connect cells with collagen fibers in the ECM, allowing cells to move through the ECM. Fibronectins bind collagen and cell-surface integrins, causing a reorganization of the cell's cytoskeleton to facilitate cell movement. Fibronectins are secreted by cells in an unfolded, inactive form.
A reticular cell is a type of fibroblast that synthesizes collagen alpha-1(III) and uses it to produce extracellular reticular fibers.Reticular cells provide structural support, since they produce and maintain the thin networks of fibers that are a framework for most lymphoid organs.
Within finished cartilage, collagen fibers compose 10-20% of the volume, water 65-80%, and the proteoglycan-hyaluronic acid aggregates the remaining portion. Due to the proliferative nature of chondroblasts, cells compose a larger portion of the composition than what is normally found within completed cartilage. [3]
Flattened cells are oriented parallel to the surface, along with the collagen fibers, in the superficial zone, the region of highest cell density. In the middle zone, chondrocytes are larger and more rounded and display a random distribution, in which the collagen fibers also are more randomly arranged.
Type I collagen is the most abundant collagen of the human body, consisting of around 90% of the body's total collagen in vertebrates. Due to this, it is also the most abundant protein type found in all vertebrates. Type I forms large, eosinophilic fibers known as collagen fibers, which make up most of the rope-like dense connective tissue in ...