Critical Reviews in Oral Biology & Medicine, Vol 4, 619-637, Copyright © 1993 by International & American Associations for Dental Research
Effects of extracellular matrix components on cell locomotion
J. McCarthy and E. A. Turley
Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis.
The extracellular matrix (ecm), which is composed of collagens,
glycoproteins, and proteoglycans, has emerged as an important regulator of
cell locomotion. This review describes some of the mechanisms by which the
ecm may regulate locomotion, focusing primarily on cell extension and
lamellae formation. Ecm-receptor interactions form an important part of
cell recognition of ecm. Such interactions can result in altered cell
adhesion, signal transduction, and cytoskeletal organization, all of which
impact on cell locomotion. It is important to note that although the
effects of single ecm components have been studied, generally, the cell is
likely to perceive ecm in vivo as a macromolecular complex. It will fall to
future work to define how complexes of ecm regulate cell behavior. Because
of our own particular research bias, we focus on reviewing the role of
fibronectin, integrins, chondroitin sulfate, hyaluronan, and hyaluronan
receptors in the regulation of cell locomotion and examine their effect on
adhesion, signal transduction, and cytoskeletal integrity. Cytoskeleton
assembly mechanisms, particularly those that might be regulated by the ecm,
are also described. These events are summarized in a working model of
ecm-promoted locomotion.
