Thomas M. Birkenmeier, M.D.

DEPARTMENT OF Internal Medicine
Keywords: wound healing, extracellular matrix, cell migration, growth factors

The processes of cell migration and extracellular matrix production are vital for wound healing to occur. During the wound healing process, the expression of the extracellular matrix protein fibronectin and its cell surface receptor are dramatically increased on the cells that are migrating to cover the wounded area.

We have been examining the role of growth factors in the regulation of expression of these two proteins and have demonstrated that transforming growth factor-b is one of the factors that up-regulates their expression. We are currently examining the molecular mechanisms of how this occurs using cell lines and transgenic mice. The understanding of how expression of these molecules is controlled should yield new agents to therapeutically manipulate the normal and abnormal wound healing response.