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Membrane-anchored matrix metalloproteinase 14 (MMP14) is involved broadly in organ development through both its proteolytic and signal-transducing functions. Knockout of Mmp14 (KO) in mice results in a dramatic reduction of body size and wasting followed by premature death, the mechanism of which is poorly understood. Since the mammary gland develops after birth and is thus dependent for its functional progression on systemic and local cues, we chose it as an organ model for understanding why KO mice fail to thrive. A global analysis of the mammary glands’ proteome in the wild type (WT) and KO mice provided insight into an unexpected role of MMP14 in maintaining metabolism and homeostasis. We performed mass spectrometry and quantitative proteomics to determine the protein signatures of mammary glands from 7 to 11 days old WT and KO mice and found that KO rudiments had a significantly higher level of rate-limiting enzymes involved in catabolic pathways. Glycogen and lipid levels in KO rudiments were reduced, and the circulating levels of triglycerides and glucose were lower. Analysis of the ultrastructure of mammary glands imaged by electron microscopy revealed a significant increase in autophagy signatures in KO mice. Finally, Mmp14 silenced mammary epithelial cells displayed enhanced autophagy. Applied to a systemic level, these findings indicate that MMP14 is a crucial regulator of tissue homeostasis. If operative on a systemic level, these findings could explain how Mmp14 KO litter fail to thrive due to disorder in metabolism.

The history of British immigration control has culminated in the establishment and growth of informal, camp-like migrant settlements in northern France. Despite their proliferation across Europe, the current literature does not yet provide sufficient anthropological understanding of these spaces. To bridge this gap, this thesis draws on ethnographic fieldwork conducted in 2018 and 2019 exploring the intersections of violence and affect in one particular settlement, Dankix. Dankix is continuously built and rebuilt by its street homeless undocumented Kurdish residents, as they attempt to reach the United Kingdom in lorries and small boats. Since the turn of the century, over 340 people have died along the France-UK border. This thesis examines the circumstances that lead to death in Dankix. It explores the way that different forms of violence are exerted upon people living in the settlement, how they are elucidated through interpersonal encounters, and how residents negotiate such a violent milieu in their bid to reach the UK. In addressing these issues, this research examines how structures of violence become (in)visible and shape the everyday. It focuses on the humanitarian encounter, smuggling and other money-making strategies, arrest and detention, embodiment, and border death to illustrate life and death within a setting to which, as yet, scholars have paid little attention. This thesis shows that violence transforms the economy of affective attachments through which Dankix residents experience, mediate, and interpret the world around them, and their place within it. It draws out particularities of informal camps to show how key themes in migration literature, such as waiting, are complicated by this setting and its spatial politics. Finally, it argues that Dankix has become a space where death is misrecognised as inevitable. It concludes by making policy recommendations that, if implemented, would enable Dankix residents to seek asylum in the UK safely.