Volume 52 (2): 153-156, 2004 Copyright ©The Histochemical Society, Inc.
Laminins
Department of Internal Medicine, Renal Division, Washington University School of Medicine, St Louis, Missouri (JHM,CL), and CROET, Oregon Health Sciences University, Portland, Oregon (BLP) Correspondence to: Jeffrey H. Miner, Renal Division, Box 8126, Washington U. School of Medicine, 660 South Euclid Ave., St Louis, MO 63110. E-mail: minerj{at}wustl.edu
Basement membranes (BMs) are thin layers of extracellular matrix (ECM) found at the basal surface of many cell types, including epithelial cells. BMs present growth, differentiation, and anti-apoptotic signals and provide structural support to cells, compartmentalize tissues, and serve as filters. The structure and function of BMs depend on their complement of laminins, a family of
Key Words: laminin integrin pancreas merosin dystroglycan
|
|
|||||||||||||