Host interactions with tumor cells contribute to tumor progression by several means. This study was done to determine whether mammary epithelium could interact with breast carcinoma by producing substances capable of inducing motility in the cancer cells. Conditioned medium of immortalized 184A1 mammary epithelium collected in serum-free conditions induced dose-dependent motility in the MCF-7 b...

The binding of platelets to components in the subendothelial matrix is an initial event in hemostasis and thrombosis. The glycoprotein components of the matrix are considered important in this interaction. Of these, collagen binds and activates platelets and induces their aggregation. In this study we demonstrate that substrate-bound laminin causes time- and concentration-dependent adherence of...

The optic nerve of the developing rat was examined for the presence of laminin, an adhesive glycoprotein, to assess whether it might serve as a substrate for retinal axon growth in viva. The optic stalk and nerve of developing rats were screened immunohistochemically for the presence of laminin before, during, and after the period of retinal axon growth. On embryonic day 14 (E14), laminin immun...

Dystoroglycan is encoded by a single gene and cleaved into two proteins, alpha and beta-dystroglycan, by posttranslational processing. The 120kDa peripheral nerve isoform of alpha-dystroglycan binds laminin-2 comprised of the alpha 2, beta 1, and gamma 1 chains. In congenital muscular dystrophy and dy mice deficient in laminin alpha 2 chain, peripheral myelination is disturbed, suggesting a rol...

The Borrelia burgdorferi BmpA outer surface protein plays a significant role in mammalian infection by the Lyme disease spirochete and is an important antigen for the serodiagnosis of human infection. B. burgdorferi adheres to host extracellular matrix components, including laminin. The results of our studies indicate that BmpA and its three paralogous proteins, BmpB, BmpC, and BmpD, all bind t...

We investigate the role of dystroglycan, a major laminin-1 receptor and central member of the dystrophin-glycoprotein complex, in the laminin-1 induced motility of cultured Muller glial cells. Binding of laminin-1 to dystroglycan was prevented by IIH6, a function-blocking monoclonal antibody against alpha-dystroglycan. As an alternative means of inhibition, we used heparin to mask the dystrogly...

Basement membranes (BMs) are specialized extracellular matrices required for tissue organization and organ formation. We study the role of laminin and its integrin receptor in the regulation of tissue migration during Drosophila oogenesis. Egg production in Drosophila involves the collective migration of follicle cells (FCs) over the BM to shape the mature egg. We show that laminin content in t...

Mesangial cells organize the glomerular capillaries by adhering to the G domain of laminin alpha5 in the glomerular basement membrane. n developing glomeruli, laminin ␣ 5 replaces laminin ␣ 1 in the glomerular basement membrane (GBM) at the capillary loop stage, a transition required for glomerulogenesis. To investigate domain-specific functions of laminin ␣ 5 during glomerulogenesis, we produc...

Laminin-332 (formerly laminin-5) and collagen VII are basement membrane proteins expressed at the invasive front of human squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) tumors. These proteins have protumorigenic properties, but whether laminin-332 and collagen VII promote SCC tumors by providing adhesion or other nonadhesive extracellular cues, or whether laminin-332 and collagen VII interact together in this p...

The basement membrane (BM) is a special type of extracellular matrix and presents the major barrier cancer cells have to overcome multiple times form metastases. Here we show that BM stiffness determinant metastases formation in several tissues identify netrin-4 (Net4) as key regulator stiffness. Mechanistically, our biophysical functional analyses combination with mathematical simulations Net4...