Connective Tissue - tissue is mostly extracellular matrix (ECM).

The cells that produce the ECM are scattered about the ECM. The protein collagen provides the tensile strength of tissue Collagen - 3 collagen polypeptide strands are twisted together. Many of these structures are then wound up, forming collagen fibrils. Collagen fibrils wind up with other collagen fibrils to form even larger strands. ECM Cells - the cells that reside in the ECM have various names. They are called fibroblasts in skin, tendons, etc. They re called osteoblasts in bone. - These cells secrete all the components of the ECM, including collagen. So the collagen is made in the cell, but to make sure that collagen fibers dont start aggregating into collagen fibrils, the cells tag collagen molecules with peptides, and the collagen at this point is called procollagen. When the procollagen leaves the cell, enzymes called procollagen proteinases cut the peptides off, allowing the collagen to start aggregating Cells and Collagen - the protein fibronectin connects cells, at receptor proteins called integrin, to collagen. The intracellular side of integrin is anchored to actin filaments. - Note that intergrins can bind molecules intracellularly and extracelularly, and are involved in many functions. For example, people who dont have a certain type of integrin on their white blood cells (which normally allow the wbc to exit the blood vessels into infected tissue) will develop leucocyte adhesion deficiency in which they get repeated infections Proteoglycans - proteoglycans are a type of glycosaminoglycans (GAGs), and they are compression resistant - GAGs are concentrated and collagen less concentrated in the the jelly of the eyes, whereas GAGs are less concentrated and collagen more in tendons and bones, etc - GAGs have a (-) charge, which causes Na+ ions to congregate near them, and this causes H2O to flow into this area via osmosis. This causes the area to swell, but the swelling is counter balanced by the collagen fibers, like a ballon with water in it Epithelial - types... (dont need to know all the details) 1. simple squamous = thin, single layered sheet of cells through which things can readily diffuse through, e.g. oxygen readily diffuses through s.s. tissue in lungs 2. stratified squamous = multi-layered, stacked structure of cells that protects whats under it against abrasive forces, e.g. esophagus, anus

3. pseudostratified ciliated columnar = sheet of tall/skinny cells that secrete layer of mucus, which cilia then move upwards out of airways 4. simple columnar = tall cells lining digestive tracks that secrete digestive enzymes and absorb nutrients; they are tightly packed to prevent bad stuff from leaking thru digestive track 5. cuboidal = post-digestive cells that store and eliminate stuff - epithelial tissue has 2 sides... 1) Apical surface is the side of the tissue that is in contact with either the air or some fluid 2) Basal surface is connected to the basal lamina, which is a thin sheet made of ECM. The basal lamina is in turn attached to connective tissue - the basal lamina includes type 4 collagen and proteins, including laminin which forms the connection between integrin molecules in the plasma membranes of epithelial cells and the underlying connective tissue - Note that epithelial cells are polarized meaning that the apical and basal sides are different. For example, the epitelial cells in the gut are polarized because the apical side has proteins specialized for the absorption of materials while the basal side has proteins specialized for the export of the absorbed material Epithelial Junctions 1) tight junctions - tight junctions connect adjacent cells very tightly together. The junction is made up of the proteins claudin and occludins 2) Adherens - this junction is formed between two cadherin proteins. One protein is in the plasma membrane of one epi cell and another in the pm of another epi cell. The cadherin proteins are attached to intracellular action filaments. Therefore, adheren junctions form an actin-based connection 3) Desmosomes - intermediate filaments called keratins criss cross the inside of the cell and the keratins bind to the desmosomes, which are a complex of cadherin proteins, and the desmosomes of adjacent cells bind together, resulting in a tough sheet of cells attached by intermediate filaments 4) Hemidesmosomes- anchor intermediate filaments in a cell to the basal lamina 5) Gap junction - protein connections between cells that allow inorganic ions and small water soluble molecules to pass between adjacent cells. The equivalent in plants in plasmodesmata