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 specic 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 ...