Physiological and pathological implications of laminins: From the gene to the protein

Abstract

The extracellular matrix plays an important role in modulating the behavior of cells with which it interacts. There are a number of families of extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins including collagens, proteoglycans and laminins (LM). LM are the major component of the basal lamina (BL). Here, we review the current knowledge on their structure, self-assembly, binding mechanisms, diverse tissue-expression patterns and its impact on pathology. Studies and hypothesis exploring the role of LM and their polymorphic genes on autoimmune diseases (AIDs) such as systemic lupus erythematosus and Sjögren's syndrome (SS) are also discussed.

• Laminin
• extracellular matrix
• basal lamina
• systemic lupus erythematosus
• Sjögren's syndrome

Acknowledgements

This work was supported by Fundación para la Promoción de la Investigación y Tecnología, Bogotá (MCP, J-MA), Universidad Autónoma de Bucaramanga (MCP, NCS), Colombia and Fondecyt, 1050192, Chile (MJG).