CELL-MATRIX INTERACTIONS, ALTERATIONS WITH AGING, INVOLVEMENT IN ANGIOGENESIS

Cell-matrix interactions are mediated primarily by integrins, which ar e membrane-spanning receptors capable of cell or matrix component reco gnition and involved in two-way intracellular signal transduction. Agi ng is associated with quantitative and qualitative changes in matrix m acromolecules and the integrins that bind them. These changes translat e into alterations in cell-matrix interactions. Integrin expression mo difications have also been reported in some diseases.