Research.
Every peer-reviewed study on fascia in one place — graded for strength of evidence, summarised in plain language for clinicians, researchers, and curious patients.
We grade studies from A to 1A+++ using the Fascia Research Database rubric — 1A+++ is the strongest.
- A2020
Feeling Things Out: Bidirectional Signaling of the Cell–ECM Interface, Implications in the Mechanobiology of Cell Spreading, Migration, Proliferation, and Differentiation
Andrew E Miller, Ping Hu, Thomas H BarkerThis narrative review describes how cells and their surrounding environment, the extracellular matrix (ECM), constantly communicate with each other. This communication involves physical cues from the ECM being translate…
extracellular matrixstiffnesscytoskeletonmechanotransduction - A2015
Modes of cancer cell invasion and the role of the microenvironment
Andrew G Clark, Danijela Matic VignjevicFor cancer to spread, or metastasize, tumor cells must first invade the surrounding connective tissue (stroma). This review article describes how cancer cells can move in different ways—either as single cells or in coll…
fasciaextracellular matrixcancertumor invasionmicroenvironment - A2015
Remodelling the extracellular matrix in development and disease
Caroline Bonnans, Jonathan Chou, Zena WerbThis narrative review describes the extracellular matrix (ECM), a dynamic network present in all body tissues that undergoes constant remodeling. This remodeling process is crucial for regulating cell functions like pro…
fasciaextracellular matrixstiffnessmechanotransductionmatrix remodeling - A2014
Biotensegrity of the extracellular matrix: physiology, dynamic mechanical balance, and implications in oncology and mechanotherapy
Irene Tadeo, Ana P Berbegall, Luis M Escudero,Tomás Álvaro, Rosa NogueraThis 2014 review article explores the concept of biotensegrity, a principle where cells and tissues maintain structural integrity through a balance of tension and compression. This dynamic mechanical balance involves th…
fasciaextracellular matrixcancerbiotensegritymechanotherapy - A2014
A decorin-deficient matrix affects skin chondroitin/dermatan sulfate levels and keratinocyte function
Katerina Nikolovska, Jana K Renke, Oliver Jungmann, Kay Grobe, Renato V Iozzo, Alina D Zamfir, Daniela G SeidlerThis study in mice investigated how the absence of a proteoglycan called decorin affects skin structure and function. Researchers found that mice lacking decorin had an altered composition of other sugar molecules (chon…
extracellular matrixDecorinSLRPDermatan sulfateFibroblast growth factor - A2014
Mechanotransduction and extracellular matrix homeostasis
Jay D Humphrey, Eric R Dufresne, Martin A SchwartzConnective tissues are dynamic, constantly adapting even at rest. Cells within these tissues continually sense mechanical cues from their environment through a process called mechanotransduction. In response, they maint…
fasciaextracellular matrixIntegrinsmechanosensingmechanoregulation - A2013
Fascia Research Congress Evidence from the 100 year perspective of Andrew Taylor Still
Thomas W Findley, Mona ShalwalaThis review paper examines research from the first three International Fascia Research Congresses through the perspective of Andrew Taylor Still, the founder of osteopathic medicine. Over a century ago, Still described…
fasciaextracellular matrixfibroblastOsteopathic medicinefascia anatomy - A2013
Molecular assembly and mechanical properties of the extracellular matrix: A fibrous protein perspective
Lisa D Muiznieks, Fred W KeeleyThis review article examines the extracellular matrix (ECM), the dynamic network of molecules surrounding our cells. The authors focus on fibrous proteins like collagen and elastin, which form the structural backbone of…
fasciaextracellular matrixcollageneastinself-assembly - A2012
A RHAMM Mimetic Peptide Blocks Hyaluronan Signaling and Reduces Inflammation and Fibrogenesis in Excisional Skin Wounds
Cornelia Tolg, Sara R Hamilton, Ewa Zalinska, Lori McCulloch, Ripal Amin, Natalia Akentieva, Francoise Winnik, Rashmin…In this animal study, researchers investigated how to reduce scarring during skin wound healing. They developed a peptide, P15-1, designed to interfere with signals from fragmented hyaluronan, a molecule involved in inf…
hyaluronaninflammationfasciaextracellular matrixfibrosis - A2012
CTGF is a central mediator of tissue remodeling and fibrosis and its inhibition can reverse the process of fibrosis
Kenneth E Lipson, Carol Wong, Yuchin Teng, Suzanne SpongFibrosis is a process of excessive connective tissue formation, leading to scarring and stiffness in organs. A protein called Connective Tissue Growth Factor (CTGF) plays a central role in driving this process. This res…
extracellular matrixfibrosisfascia CTGFtissue remodeling - A2011
ExtracellularMatrix Degradation and Remodeling in Development and Disease
Pengfei Lu, Ken Takai, Valerie M Weaver, Zena WerbIn this review, the authors describe the extracellular matrix (ECM) as a dynamic structure that is constantly being remodeled. This process of breakdown and rebuilding is essential for normal bodily functions like tissu…
fasciaextracellular matrixmatrix remodeling - A2011
Hyaluronan in intestinal homeostasis and inflammation: implications for fibrosis
Carol A de la MotteThis narrative review explores the role of hyaluronan (HA) in intestinal health and disease. Chronic intestinal inflammation can lead to fibrosis, or scarring, a process driven by inflammatory signals and specialized ce…
hafasciaextracellular matrixfibrosismesenchymal cells - A2011
Remodeling and homeostasis of the extracellular matrix: implications for fibrotic diseases and cancer
Thomas R Cox, Janine T ErlerIn this perspective article, the authors discuss how the extracellular matrix (ECM) is constantly being remodeled, a process essential for normal bodily functions like wound healing and tissue maintenance. When this rem…
fasciaextracellular matrixcancerfibrosisstiffness - A2009
From mechanotransduction to extracellular matrix gene expression in fibroblasts
Matthias Chiquet, Laurent Gelman, Roman Lutz, Silke MaierThis 2009 review article explores how connective tissue cells, or fibroblasts, sense and respond to mechanical forces from their environment. Cells attach to the surrounding extracellular matrix via adhesion contacts, w…
fasciaextracellular matrixfibroblastcytoskeletonmechanotransduction - A2009
Mechanotransduction at a distance: mechanically coupling the extracellular matrix with the nucleus
Ning Wang, Jessica D Tytell, Donald E IngberIn this narrative review, the authors explore how mechanical forces can influence the cell nucleus from a distance. Research has often focused on how external forces are converted into chemical signals at the cell's sur…
fasciaextracellular matrixcytoskeletonmechanotransductioncell nucleus - A2008
Tensegrity-Based Mechanosensing from Macro to Micro
Donald E IngberThis review article, based on a lecture, explores how cells convert mechanical signals into biochemical responses. The author proposes that the body uses "tensegrity" (tensional integrity) principles, where interconnect…
fasciaextracellular matrixTensegritycytoskeletonmechanotransduction - A2008
Differential effects of hyaluronan and its fragments on fibroblasts: Relation to wound healing
Maha David-Raoudi, Frederic Tranchepain, Brigitte Deschrevel, Jean-Claude Vincent, Patrick Bogdanowicz, Karim Boumedien…This lab study investigated how hyaluronan (HA) of different molecular sizes affects human fibroblast cells, which are key to wound healing. Researchers exposed fibroblasts to native HA and two smaller fragments. All th…
hyaluronanfasciawound healingextracellular matrixfibrosis - A2008
Can cancer be reversed by engineering the tumor microenvironment?
Donald E IngberIn this perspective article, the author proposes a different way of looking at cancer. Instead of focusing solely on genetic mutations, he argues that the physical environment around a tumor, particularly the extracellu…
fasciaextracellular matrixmechanicalcytoskeletonstroma - A2007
Extracellular matrix, mechanotransduction and structural hierarchies in heart tissue engineering
Kevin K Parker, Donald E IngberThis narrative review explores the challenges of engineering artificial heart tissue. The heart functions across vast scales of time and space, from tiny ion channels to the whole organ's pumping action. The authors sug…
fasciaextracellular matrixcytoskeletonmechanotransductionmyocardial cell - A2007
Formation and Function of the Myofibroblast during Tissue Repair
Boris HinzMyofibroblasts are specialized cells that play a key role in wound healing and tissue repair. Formed from fibroblasts, their primary function is to contract, which helps pull the edges of a wound together. While this is…
fasciaextracellular matrixfibrosisMyofibroblastwound healing TGF-beta - A2006
Migration of tumor cells in 3D matrices is governed by matrix stiffness along with cell-matrix adhesion and proteolysis
Muhammad H Zaman, Linda M Trapani, Alisha L Sieminski, Drew MacKellar, Haiyan Gong, Roger D Kamm, Alan Wells, Douglas A…This study investigated how tumor cells move in a three-dimensional environment similar to body tissues. Researchers found that in addition to the cell's ability to adhere to and pull on its surroundings, the stiffness…
extracellular matrixmatrix metalloproteinasecell motilityEGF receptor - A2006
Mechanisms of Mechanotransduction
A Wayne Orr, Brian P Helmke, Brett R Blackman, Martin A SchwartzThis review describes mechanotransduction, the process by which cells sense and respond to physical forces. The researchers explain that nearly all living organisms, from bacteria to humans, are sensitive to mechanical…
extracellular matrixcytoskeletonmechanotransductionfocal adhesion - A2005
Cell tension, matrix mechanics, and cancer development
Sui Huang, Donald E IngberDoctors can often diagnose cancer by feeling for tissue stiffness, and this study explores how this mechanical property contributes to cancer development. The researchers suggest that the stiff extracellular matrix in t…
extracellular matrixcancercytoskeletonmechanotransduction - A2003
Mechanobiology and diseases of mechanotransduction
Donald E IngberThis 2003 article argues that medicine often overlooks the physical and mechanical aspects of disease, focusing instead on genetics. The author reviews how physical forces and the extracellular matrix are vital for norm…
extracellular matrixcytoskeletonmechanotransductionIntegrinstissue engineering - A2003
New and active role of the interstitium in control of interstitial fluid pressure: potential therapeutic consequences
H Wiig, K Rubin, R K ReedThis review challenges the traditional view of the interstitium as merely a passive fluid reservoir. The researchers present data suggesting that connective tissue cells and the extracellular matrix actively regulate in…
inflammationextracellular matrixInterstitial fluid volumeintegrins edema - A1999
Tensegrity and mechanoregulation: from skeleton to cytoskeleton
Christopher S Chen, Donald E IngberThis review article explores how mechanical forces are transmitted from the whole body down to individual cells. The authors propose that a design principle called "tensegrity," which uses continuous tension and local c…
extracellular matrixTensegritycytoskeletonmechanotransductionIntegrins - A1997
Tensegrity: The Architectural Basis of Cellular Mechanotransduction
D E IngberThis 1997 review article proposes a model for how cells sense and respond to physical forces, a process called mechanotransduction. The author suggests that cells are built using 'tensegrity' architecture, a system of b…
extracellular matrixsignal transductioncytoskeletonIntegrinsmechanoreceptor - A1987
Endothelial Growth Factors and Extracellular Matrix Regulate Dna Synthesis Through Modulation of Cell and Nuclear Expansion
Donald E Ingber, Joseph A Madri,, Judah FolkmanThis study investigated how the extracellular matrix (ECM) and growth factors work together to regulate the growth of capillary endothelial cells, which line blood vessels. Researchers found that these cells needed both…
extracellular matrixgrowth factorsnuclear modulationcell modulation