title: Cell-matrix interactions in liver.
abstract: Studies of cell-matrix interaction in liver have demonstrated the biological impact of extracellular matrix on the structure and function of liver cells, both parenchymal and mesenchymal. Much of the work involves cell culture models, in which either hepatocytes or non-parenchymal liver cells are plated on various extracellular matrix proteins and the expression of tissue-specific function is assessed. The data suggest that a basement membrane-like matrix exists within the perisinusoidal space and is critical to the maintenance of normal liver function. There are reservations concerning the accuracy of cell-culture models with respect to the intact liver, in that the precise composition and structure of this matrix still is uncertain. Nonetheless, work to date has added a new dimension to the role of the extracellular matrix of the normal liver and a new appreciation of the potential impact of pathologically altered matrix ('fibrosis') in liver disease.
authors.affiliation: Liver Core Center, University of California, San Francisco.
authors.forename: J J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Maher
authors.forename: D M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Bissell
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D001485:Basement Membrane / Q000378:metabolism; D002450:Cell Communication; D004727:Endothelium / Q000378:metabolism; D000939:Epitopes; D005109:Extracellular Matrix / Q000378:metabolism*; D016326:Extracellular Matrix Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D008099:Liver / Q000166:cytology / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D011956:Receptors, Cell Surface / Q000378:metabolism; D015398:Signal Transduction
chemical_list: D000939:Epitopes; D016326:Extracellular Matrix Proteins; D011956:Receptors, Cell Surface; C052131:extracellular matrix receptor