上皮細胞を支える基底膜のダイナミクス

In homeostatic epithelial tissues, the basement membrane appears to be a quiet, motionless structure. However, during embryonic development and tissue regeneration, the basement membrane dramatically changes its distribution and shows a variety of dynamics such as compositional transition and physicochemical alterations. Recently, it has been pointed out that the shape and function of epithelial tissues is greatly influenced by the way of formation and arrangement of the basement membrane. Here, we outline the current understanding of the roles of the basement membrane dynamics in epithelial morphogenesis, and briefly introduce our approach to visualize the movement of basement membrane components.