The storage vacuoles also contain molecular aggregates that provide the required thermal stability to allow for fibrillogenesis to occur within the body.
Fibronectin a glycoprotein that binds to receptor proteins known as integrins within the cytoskeleton is a key player in the hypothesized method of fibrillogenesis.
[1] Based on research using mice and studies of Ehlers-Danlos syndromes (EDS), which is characterized by hypermobility of the joints, and high levels of skin laxity, researcher found that tenascin X expression levels correlated with the number of present collagen fibrils.
As fibrillogenesis is taking place, there is a change in the light-scattering properties of the sample over time, which can be measured with a spectrophotometer.
Turbidity tests done on type I collagen triple-helices will display a sigmoidal curve when plotted on a graph.
On a broader spectrum, an understanding of the processes that lie behind fibrillogenesis would allow for great advancements in the field of regenerative medicine.
A greater understanding would lead to a potential future in which organs and tissue damaged through trauma could be regenerated using the basis of collagen fibrillogenesis.