Recreating the natural cell niche is key to successful cultivation. The physical, topological, and biochemical expression of the different laminin isoforms in the BM is heterogeneous and tissue-specific.Â
Human recombinant laminin 211 substrate, Biolaminin 211 LN (LN211), supports the growth, survival, and differentiation of a wide range of tissue-specific cell types, including motor neurons, cardiac cells, and skeletal muscle cells.
Laminin 211 is crucial for muscle development and function and is one of the main isoforms present in adult muscle tissue, including varying amounts of laminin 221, laminin 521 and laminin 421 depending on the tissue.
Mutations of the LAMA2 gene are the most common cause of congenital muscular dystrophy that frequently leads to death in early childhood (Domogatskaya, 2012). For a review of laminin 211 in skeletal muscle function, see Holmberg and Durbeej, 2012.
Laminin 211 as well as laminin 221, are very important for cardiomyocytes and heart muscle development. In the developing heart both laminin 211 and laminin 221 are expressed in the extracellular matrix of cardiomyocytes as well as in the basement membrane zones of the endo- and pericardium and the capillaries (Roediger, 2010).
Laminin 211 is a major laminin isoform synthesized by Schwann cells in the developing peripheral nervous system, important for axonal elongation/neurite extension and myelinization (Patton, 2000; Patton, 2001; Wallquist, 2005).
Laminins containing the α2-chain (such as laminin 211) are expressed in the ventricular zone ECM in the developing mouse central nervous system. Since laminins are known to contribute to the stem cell niche in the brain, this suggests that laminin 211 could play an important functional role in the regulation of neural stem cells and progenitor cells (Haubst, 2006; Kazanis, 2010; Lathia, 2007; Mercier, 2002).
