| | The Extracellular Matrix of Animals |
 | | The vertebrate extracellular matrix was once thought to serve mainly as a relatively inert scaffold to stabilize the physical structure of tissues. |
 | | We focus on the extracellular matrix of vertebrates, but the origins of the extracellular matrix are very ancient and virtually all multicellular organisms, make it; examples include the cuticles of worms and insects, the shells of mollusks, and, as we discuss later, the cell walls of plants. |
 | | The extracellular domains of these transmembrane proteoglycans carry up to three chondroitin sulfate and heparan sulfate GAG chains, while their intracellular domains are thought to interact with the actin cytoskeleton in the cell cortex. |
| www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov /books/bv.fcgi?rid=mboc4.section.3532 (8975 words) |