Full Description
Cancer was thought to originate from alterations in intercellular signaling that resulted in the transformation of cells, their uncontrolled proliferation and metastasis. There is now an increasing body of evidence demonstrating that the surrounding matrix and cell-matrix interactions are also major players in this process. Cells adhere and receive signals from various extracellular matrices via transmembrane receptors, the best known of which are the heterodimeric glycoproteins, integrins.
Contents
The Extracellular Matrix: An Overview.- Integrin Structure and Function.- Cancer in Context: Importance of the Tumor Microenvironment.- Basement Membrane Collagens and Cancer.- Laminins and Cancer Progression.- Fibronectins and Their Receptors in Cancer.- Vitronectin-Binding Integrins in Cancer.- The Function of SPARC in Tumor Cell Biology: SPARC as a Modulator of Cell-Extracellular Matrix Interaction.- Proteoglycans and Cancer.- Tetraspanins in Cancer.- The Role of Integrin-Linked Kinase in Cancer Development and Progression.- Focal Adhesion Kinase with the Interacting Proteins and Signaling in Cancer.
