Isolation and analysis of laminins.

Laminins are large glycoproteins forming structural and signaling networks with two major physiological roles: one role crucial for the formation and stability of basement membranes and the other role, as crucial as the first, in cell anchorage and signaling. Laminins come in several flavors as 16 different isoforms are known, each with both common and unique functions. Here the most current techniques for purification and identification of laminins in tissues and cultivated cells as well as for testing the cell adhesion-promoting activity of laminins will be described.