Matrigel: history/background, uses, and future applications.

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.