Introduction: matrix biology in the 21st century. From a static-rheological role to a dynamic-signaling function.
These introductory remarks contain a succinct reminder of the developmental history of matrix biology, from the descriptive biochemistry of connective tissues to the up to date cell biology of extracellular matrices. The rapid growth of this discipline makes it prohibitive to give a complete coverage of recent results on all aspects of matrix biology and pathology. The articles in this special issue concern several of the ECM-macromolecules and some of their functional characteristics. No space remained for reviews on matrix related pathologies. As a partial compensation some recent aspects of cell-cell and cell-matrix interactions in malignant growth are mentioned in this introduction.
Labat-Robert
Jacqueline
J
Laboratoire de Recherche Ophtalmologique, Hôtel Dieu, Paris, France. lrobert5@wanadoo.fr
Robert
Ladislas
L
D000818:Animals; D001695:Biology / Q000266:history / Q000639:trends*; D002450:Cell Communication; D005109:Extracellular Matrix / Q000502:physiology*; D049673:History, 20th Century; D012212:Rheology; D015398:Signal Transduction