Abstract
Basement membranes are thin sheets of specialised extracellular matrix, supporting epithelial cell layers and covering muscle cells and nerve fibres. Basement membranes not only provide a particular support for tissues, but also have essential roles in cell differentiation and movement, in morphogenesis and new formation of organs and in multiple pathological processes, such as tumour growth and migration. Basement membranes consist of two different layers (laminae), which can easily be distinguished under the electron microscope: the basal lamina (Lb, lamina basalis) and the reticular lamina (Lf, lamina fibroreticularis).
Keywords
Basement Membrane Curr Opin Cell Biol Epithelial Cell Layer Lamina Densa Reticular Lamina
These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.
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© Springer-Verlag/Wien 2010