We report the identification of a novel laminin variant that appears to be unique to a subset of epithelial basement membranes. The variant contains two chains electrophoretically and immunologically identical to the B1 and B2 chains. Epitopes contained in the laminin A chain are absent from the molecule, and a 190-kD chain substitutes for the A chain. V8 protease analysis and Western blotting ...

Skeletal muscle basal lamina is linked to the sarcolemma through transmembrane receptors, including integrins and dystroglycan. The function of dystroglycan relies critically on posttranslational glycosylation, a common target shared by a genetically heterogeneous group of muscular dystrophies characterized by alpha-dystroglycan hypoglycosylation. Here we show that both dystroglycan and integri...

p. atlantica subsp. kurdica, with the local name of baneh, is a wild medicinal plant which grows in kurdistan, iran.  the identification of resistance gene analogs holds great promise for the development of resistant cultivars. a pcr approach with degenerate primers designed according to conserved nbs-lrr (nucleotide binding site-leucine rich repeat) regions of known disease-resistance (r) gene...

Rotary shadowing electron microscopy was used to examine complexes formed by incubating combinations of the basement membrane components: type IV collagen, laminin, large heparan sulfate proteoglycan and fibronectin. Complexes were analyzed by length measurement from the globular (COOH) domain of type IV collagen, and by examination of the four arms of laminin and the two arms of fibronectin. T...

Laminin is a basement membrane glycoprotein which consists of A, B1, and B2 chains. Laminin has diverse biological activities including promoting cell adhesion, migration, differentiation, growth, and neurite extension. Synthetic peptides from the active region of the A chain were prepared and tested for their biological activity. A 19-mer peptide (designated PA22-2), from just above the carbox...

Laser Assisted Bioprinting (LAB) is recognized to be an enabling and versatile microfabrication technology for regenerative medicine artificial tissue engineering. Current bioprinting concentrates on a layer-by-layer approach print cells in consecutive stacks or nets, recreate specialized functions with top-down approach. This synthering of proximal however reduces the long range correlation pa...

We describe a unique extracellular matrix (ECM) niche in the spleen, the marginal zone (MZ), characterized by the basement membrane glycoproteins, laminin α5 and agrin, that promotes formation of a specialized population of MZ B lymphocytes that respond rapidly to blood-borne antigens. Mice with reduced laminin α5 expression show reduced MZ B cells and increased numbers of newly formed (NF) tra...

Treponema pallidum, the causative agent of syphilis, is a highly invasive pathogenic spirochete capable of attaching to host cells, invading the tissue barrier, and undergoing rapid widespread dissemination via the circulatory system. The T. pallidum adhesin Tp0751 was previously shown to bind laminin, the most abundant component of the basement membrane, suggesting a role for this adhesin in h...

The heterotrimeric laminins are a defining component of all basement membranes and self-assemble into a cell-associated network. The three short arms of the cross-shaped laminin molecule form the network nodes, with a strict requirement for one α, one β and one γ arm. The globular domain at the end of the long arm binds to cellular receptors, including integrins, α-dystroglycan, heparan sulfate...

Mimicking one or more components of the basement membrane (BM) holds great promise for overcoming insufficiencies in tissue engineering therapies. We have electrospun laminin nanofibers (NFs) isolated from the murine Engelbreth-Holm Swarm (EHS) tumor and evaluated them as a scaffold for embryonic stem cell culture. Seeded human embryonic stem cells were found to better maintain their undifferen...