Basement membranes are thin sheets of extracellular matrix with many diverse roles in the body. Those in normal tissue are also highly insoluble and resist attempts to extract and characterize their components. A mouse tumor, the EHS tumor, has provided large amounts of basement membrane material, which has facilitated the structural and functional characterization of its components. An extract of the tumor, known as Matrigel, contains components which reconstitute into a solid gel at 37°. This solid basement membrane matrix has been used in both cell culture and in vivo. Matrigel has been utilized in some 12,000-plus publications for a variety of studies with embryonic, normal, and stem or malignant cells. Evidence presented in this Commentary suggests that Matrigel isolated from tumors grown in diverse hosts could exert unique effects that could be helpful in analyzing the causes of various pathologies and for screening possible therapeutic agents.

基底膜是细胞外基质的薄片，在体内具有多种不同的作用。正常组织中的那些也是高度不溶的，并且抵抗提取和表征其成分的尝试。小鼠肿瘤 EHS 肿瘤提供了大量基底膜材料，这促进了其成分的结构和功能表征。一种称为 Matrigel 的肿瘤提取物含有可在 37° 下重新构成固体凝胶的成分。这种固体基底膜基质已用于细胞培养和体内。Matrigel 已在大约 12,000 多份出版物中使用，用于胚胎、正常、干细胞或恶性细胞的各种研究。