Rat Laminin-5
| Rat Laminin-5 |
| Overview |
Laminin-5 is a basement membrane extracellular matrix macromolecule that provides an attachment substrate for both adhesion and migration in a wide variety of cell types, including epithelial cells, fibroblasts, neurons and leukocytes. It is a natural
substrate for cells in contact with basement membranes, including epidermal and oral keratinocytes, gastro-intestinal tract, mammary and prostate epithelial cells. These cells, compared to fibronectin, collagen, or vitronectin, will adhere to
Laminin-5 faster and spread to a larger extent. Laminin-5 can be used, in most applications, at coating concentrations in the 1 mg/ml or lower range, approximately 10-fold lower than most extracellular matrix macromolecules. Laminin-5 is attracting
attention as a substrate that may stimulate carcinoma cell migration, since it has been detected at the leading edge of invasive cancer tissue in several types of human carcinomas. Receptors for Laminin-5 include integrins a3b1 and a6b4. The latter
integrin is specialized in forming hemidesmosomes, which provide resistance to mechanical stress in many epithelia, including skin and gut. More recently, cell surface proteoglycans, such as syndecan-4, have been identified as receptors for Laminin-5.
The structural and functional properties of Laminin-5 are well conserved across species. For instance, human cells adhere equally well to human and rat laminin-5. For most purposes, human and rat Laminin-5 are interchangeable, likely based on
the fact that integrin receptor specificity is largely conserved across species. |
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