We have developed novel 3-dimensional in vitro and in vivo tissue models that mimic premalignant disease of human stratified epithelium in order to analyze the stromal contribution of extracellular matrix and basement membrane proteins to the progression of intraepithelial neoplasia. Three-dimensional, organotypic cultures were grown either on a de-epidermalized human dermis with pre-existing basement membrane components on its surface (AlloDerm), on a Type I collagen gel that lacked basement membrane proteins or on polycarbonate membranes coated with purified extracellular matrix proteins. When tumor cells (HaCaT-II4) were mixed with normal keratinocytes (4:1/normals:HaCaT-II4), tumor cells selectively attached, persisted and proliferated at the dermal-epidermal interface in vitro and generated dysplastic tissues when transplanted to nude mice only when grown in the presence of the AlloDerm substrate. This stromal interface was permissive for tumor cell attachment due to the rapid assembly of structured basement membrane. When tumor cells were mixed with normal keratinocytes and grown on polycarbonate membranes coated with individual extracellular matrix or basement membrane components, selective attachment and significant intraepithelial expansion occurred only on laminin 1 and Type IV collagen-coated membranes. This preferential adhesion of tumor cells restricted the synthesis of laminin 5 to basal cells where it was deposited in a polarized distribution. Western blot analysis revealed that tumor cell attachment was not due to differences in the synthesis or processing of laminin 5. Thus, intraepithelial progression towards premalignant disease is dependent on the selective adhesion of cells with malignant potential to basement membrane proteins that provide a permissive template for their persistence and expansion.