THE EFFECT OF COMPOSITION AND INTER- AND INTRAFIBRILLAR INTERACTIONS ON THE STRUCTURE OF COLLAGEN IV NETWORKS IN THE COMPUTER-SIMULATED GLOMERULAR BASEMENT MEMBRANE

摘要

Differences between either inter- and intrafibrillar interactions in the major and minor protomers of the basement membrane have a significant influence the morphology of simulated collagen-IV networks. Such effects become pronounced as the concentration of the minor protomer becomes large. The low density Alports syndrome case exhibits substantial differences from the healthy GBM networks. These results demonstrate the intrinsic sensitivity of the collagen microstructure of the kidney glomerulus to molecular stiffness, density, and affinity for 7S domain association.