The myotomal basement membrane: insight into laminin-111 function and its control by Sonic hedgehog signaling

The importance of laminin-containing basement membranes (BM) for adult muscle function is well established, in particular due to the severe phenotype of congenital muscular dystrophies in patients with mutations disrupting the BM-muscle cell interaction. Developing muscles in the embryo are also dependent on an intact BM. However, the processes controlled by BM-muscle cell interactions in the embryo are only beginning to be elucidated. In this review, we focus on the myotomal BM to illustrate the critical role of laminin-111 in BM assembly and function at the surface of embryonic muscle cells. The myotomal BM provides also an interesting paradigm to study the complex interplay between laminins-containing BM and growth factor-mediated signaling and activity.