Extracellular matrix: the central regulator of cell and tissue homeostasis

Abstract

The interaction of cells with an extracellular matrix (ECM) has been shown to be important for the regulation of many fundamental cellular processes including proliferation, migration and survival, as well as differentiation and tissue morphogenesis1,2. Consistent with this role, mechanisms have been described of processes that tightly control the synthesis and degradation of ECM proteins, modulate the expression of ECM-specific cell-surface receptors (e.g. integrins), and direct or integrate ECM-associated signal-transduction pathways3. Moreover, loss of tissue and cell homeostasis, a characteristic of diseases such as cancer, is always associated with alterations in the composition and amounts of ECM molecules and is usually related to changes in the ability of cells to sense and integrate ECM-derived signals4. Recognizing the central role of the ECM in cell and tissue homeostasis, the W. Alton Jones Cell Science Centre sponsored and organized its twelfth annual ‘International Cellular Endocrinology’ meeting on this subject. The full proceedings of this meeting were published in the November-December 1996 issue of the journal Biochemistry and Cell Biology.