CHAPTER 2: Matrix Biology: Gradients and Patterns within the Extracellular Matrix

Besides providing structural support for cells and segregating tissues from one another, the extracellular matrix (ECM) is a major regulator of intercellular communications, modulating short-and long-distance gradients of growth factors and morphogens, and facilitating the processing of cell-adhesion ligands and receptors by extracellular proteases. To improve the design of therapeutic artificial matrices, a better understanding of the functioning of the ECM in regulating the distribution of growth factors and proteases in vivo should be sought. This review summarizes the advances in our understanding of the roles of the ECM in cell–cell communication and cell adhesion, using examples from active processes in developmental systems.