Laminins and their roles in mammals

Jeffrey H Miner1

  • 1Renal Division and Department of Cell Biology and Physiology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri 63110, USA. minerj@wustl.edu

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The basal lamina is a thin extracellular layer that lies underneath the cells and separates them from other tissues. The three layers of the basal lamina are lamina lucida, lamina densa and lamina reticularis. The basal lamina, a mixture of glycoproteins and collagen, provides an attachment site for the epithelium, separating it from underlying connective tissue. The framework of basal lamina has other essential proteins such as laminins mesh, perlecan, entactin, and type IV collagen.
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