Will publishes thesis work on basement membrane repair.
Graduate student Will Ramos-Lewis had his his thesis work accepted for publication in Matrix Biology. “A scar-like lesion is apparent in basement membrane after wound repair in vivo,” analyzes how basement membrane is repaired after a mechanical injury. Strikingly, this repair is not perfect, as a visible scar remains even after the basement membrane has reformed. Although it’s been known that basement membrane proteins must be assembled in a step-wise fashion during embryonic development — first laminin, then collagen IV, then perlecan — Will’s work shows that when repairing, basement membranes do not need laminin to be deposited first. Further, he finds that for both development and in repair, nidogen must follow laminin. Congratulations Will!