The continuous building up and breaking down of the scaffold that surrounds cells: collagen, elastin, fibronectin, proteoglycans and the water they hold. Enzymes called matrix metalloproteinases cut the scaffold back while fibroblasts lay new material in, and the balance between them decides whether tissue thickens, thins or scars. Skin, tendon, cartilage and blood-vessel wall all depend on that balance.

Why it matters here

Most cosmetic and joint claims on this site are claims about this pathway, and it is where more collagen has to be read carefully, because deposition and organisation are not the same measurement.

Also called

• ecm
• extracellular matrix
• matrix remodeling
• ecm turnover
• matrix remodelling
• ecm support

ECM is simply the abbreviation for extracellular matrix; ECM support is marketing phrasing rather than a described action.

Compounds carrying this term

None on file yet. This term is in the controlled vocabulary but no compound record currently uses it — which is a statement about our coverage, not about the term.

See also

• Collagen Synthesis — Mechanism of Action
• Wound Healing Cascade — Biological Pathway
• Fibroblast Migration — Mechanism of Action