From the Department of Physiology, Mazankowski Alberta Heart Institute, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada (D.F., Z.K.); and Heart Failure Research Center, Academic Medical Center, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands (E.E.C.).
Circ Res. 2014 Feb 28;114(5):889-902. doi: 10.1161/CIRCRESAHA.114.302335.
The extracellular matrix (ECM) is best known for its function as a structural scaffold for the tissue and more recently as a microenvironment to sequester growth factors and cytokines allowing for rapid and localized changes in their activity in the absence of new protein synthesis. In this review, we explore this and additional new aspects of ECM function in mediating cell-to-cell communications. Fibrillar and nonfibrillar components of ECM can limit and facilitate the transport of molecules through the extracellular space while also regulating interstitial hydrostatic pressure. In turn, transmembrane communications via molecules, such as ECM metalloproteinase inducer, thrombospondins, and integrins, can further mediate cell response to extracellular cues and affect ECM composition and tissue remodeling. Other means of cell-to-cell communication include extracellular microRNA transport and its contribution to gene expression in target cells and the nanotube formation between distant cells, which has recently emerged as a novel conduit for intercellular organelle sharing thereby influencing cell survival and function. The information summarized and discussed here are not limited to the cardiovascular ECM but encompass ECM in general with specific references to the cardiovascular system.
细胞外基质（ECM）最广为人知的功能是作为组织的结构支架，最近又被认为是一种微环境，可以隔离生长因子和细胞因子，在没有新蛋白质合成的情况下允许其活性快速和局部变化。在这篇综述中，我们探讨了 ECM 在介导细胞间通讯方面的这一作用和其他新的方面。ECM 的纤维状和非纤维状成分可以限制和促进分子在细胞外空间中的运输，同时调节间质静水压力。反过来，通过分子（如 ECM 金属蛋白酶诱导剂、血小板反应蛋白和整合素）的跨膜通讯可以进一步介导细胞对细胞外信号的反应，并影响 ECM 组成和组织重塑。其他细胞间通讯方式包括细胞外 microRNA 运输及其对靶细胞中基因表达的贡献，以及远距离细胞之间的纳米管形成，这最近成为细胞间细胞器共享的新途径，从而影响细胞的存活和功能。这里总结和讨论的信息不仅限于心血管细胞外基质，还包括一般的细胞外基质，并特别提到了心血管系统。
