Toward a Genetic Analysis of Cell-Matrix Adhesion

The interactions of cells with their neighbors and with the extracetlular matrix play crucial roles in de-velopment and in numerous physiological and pathological processes (Hay 1991; Hynes and Lander 1992). Studies of cell adhesion during the past decade and more have uncovered the existence of a large number of cell adhesion molecules. These include cell-surface receptors involved in cell-cell adhesion, such as the cadherins (Takeichi 1988, 1990, 1991), members of the immunoglobulin superfamily (Jessell 1988; Grumet 1991), and selectins (Bevilacqua et al. 1991; Lasky and Rosen 1992). Each of these families of receptors in-cludes multiple related molecules. The same is true for cell-matrix adhesion, which is most frequently me-diated by the family of adhesion receptors known as