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Molecular Glue
08 February 2012

Molecular Glue

Animal tissues are not made solely of cells. Spaces between cells are filled by a connective mesh known as the extracellular matrix (ECM). Cells attach themselves to ECM molecules facilitating healthy growth and maintenance of tissue. A molecular ‘glue’ is provided by proteins called integrins, which cluster and move around inside the cell to regulate its stickiness, maintaining its association with ECM. Integrin clusters (blobs coloured red, at the outer ends of dotted green lines) are here depicted in a computer model of a hamster cell. Recent research has shown that these clusters can sense the density of the surrounding ECM, and respond by changing the binding properties of the cell. They appear smaller and closer to the periphery of cells bathed in a high concentration of ECM molecules. Understanding how ECM communicates with cells is relevant to cancer biology, since tumour development often involves destruction of the matrix.

Written by Daniel Cossins

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BPoD stands for Biomedical Picture of the Day. Managed by the MRC Laboratory of Medical Sciences until Jul 2023, it is now run independently by a dedicated team of scientists and writers. The website aims to engage everyone, young and old, in the wonders of biology, and its influence on medicine. The ever-growing archive of more than 4000 research images documents over a decade of progress. Explore the collection and see what you discover. Images are kindly provided for inclusion on this website through the generosity of scientists across the globe.

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