FAK, fibronectin and paxillin in chondrogenic cell condensation

Excerpt

Chondrogenesis is a multi-step process that encompasses an initiation phase during which chondroprogenitor cells are recruited, followed by processes of proliferation, cell condensation and nodule formation, and culminates in overt differentiation. Cell condensation, the aggregation of a dispersed population of cells, is an essential stage during which cell - cell and cell - matrix interactions produce orchestrated signaling within and among precartilage cells directed towards differentiation. In many other differentiation systems, matrix signaling, with focal adhesion complex assembly and cytoskeletal rearrangement are pivotal events. The authors hypothesized that, during chondrogenesis, activation and assembly of focal adhesion complex are necessary steps for precartilage cell condensation. …