Department of Biology, Trent University, Peterborough, Ontario, Canada.
Department of Cell & Systems Biology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Department of Biology, University of Toronto Mississauga, Mississauga, Ontario, Canada.
Biochim Biophys Acta Gen Subj. 2017 Jan;1861(1 Pt A):2971-2980. doi: 10.1016/j.bbagen.2016.09.026. Epub 2016 Sep 28.
The extracellular matrix (ECM) is a dynamic complex of glycoproteins, proteoglycans, carbohydrates, and collagen that serves as an interface between mammalian cells and their extracellular environment. Essential for normal cellular homeostasis, physiology, and events that occur during development, it is also a key functionary in a number of human diseases including cancer. The social amoeba Dictyostelium discoideum secretes an ECM during multicellular development that regulates multicellularity, cell motility, cell differentiation, and morphogenesis, and provides structural support and protective layers to the resulting differentiated cell types. Proteolytic processing within the Dictyostelium ECM leads to specific bioactive factors that regulate cell motility and differentiation.
Here we review the structure and functions of the Dictyostelium ECM and its role in regulating multicellular development. The questions and challenges that remain and how they can be answered are also discussed.
The Dictyostelium ECM shares many of the features of mammalian and plant ECM, and thus presents an excellent system for studying the structure and function of the ECM.
As a genetically tractable model organism, Dictyostelium offers the potential to further elucidate ECM functions, and to possibly reveal previously unknown roles for the ECM.
细胞外基质（ECM）是一种由糖蛋白、蛋白聚糖、碳水化合物和胶原蛋白组成的动态复合物，它作为哺乳动物细胞与其细胞外环境之间的接口。它对于正常的细胞内稳态、生理和发育过程中的事件至关重要，也是包括癌症在内的许多人类疾病的关键功能。黏菌盘基网柄菌在细胞的多细胞发育过程中分泌细胞外基质，它调节多细胞性、细胞运动性、细胞分化和形态发生，并为产生的分化细胞类型提供结构支持和保护层。盘基网柄菌细胞外基质内的蛋白水解处理会产生特定的生物活性因子，调节细胞的运动和分化。
本文综述了盘基网柄菌细胞外基质的结构和功能及其在调节多细胞发育中的作用。还讨论了仍然存在的问题和挑战，以及如何回答这些问题。
盘基网柄菌细胞外基质具有许多与哺乳动物和植物细胞外基质相同的特征，因此它是研究细胞外基质结构和功能的理想系统。
作为一种遗传上可操作的模式生物，黏菌盘基网柄菌有可能进一步阐明细胞外基质的功能，并可能揭示细胞外基质以前未知的作用。
