Cell and Material Interface

84 Cell and Material Interface

Laminins, a major component of basement membrane, controls cell adhesion,

migration, and differentiation. They exert their effects mainly through integrins and

act as a mediator of the interaction between the ECM and the cells (Tucker and

Chiquet-Ehrismann 2009). Some of the interactions provide specic functions, for

example, laminin 1 induces differentiation in epithelial cells, whereas laminin 2 pro-

motes neurite outgrowth from neural cells. On the other hand, laminin 5 is involved

in cell adhesion and migration, although this function is dependent on the proteolytic

processing of laminins by matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) or plasmin. Moreover,

vascular membrane represents laminin 5 and 10 both of which med ...