Ontology highlight
ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Yurchenco PD
PROVIDER: S-EPMC3039528 | biostudies-literature | 2011 Feb
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
Cold Spring Harbor perspectives in biology 20110201 2
Basement membranes are widely distributed extracellular matrices that coat the basal aspect of epithelial and endothelial cells and surround muscle, fat, and Schwann cells. These extracellular matrices, first expressed in early embryogenesis, are self-assembled on competent cell surfaces through binding interactions among laminins, type IV collagens, nidogens, and proteoglycans. They form stabilizing extensions of the plasma membrane that provide cell adhesion and that act as solid-phase agonist ...[more]