Structure of Fibronectins

Abstract

The ability of FN to bind specifically to other molecules (Chapter 5) provides some insight into the ways in which it might mediate the interactions of cells with various extracellular materials. Such interactions are at the core of the various biological functions in which FN participates (see Chapters 7–15). Obviously, in order to understand the functions of FN in these phenomena, one needs to understand its structure and function at the molecular level. A great deal of progress has been made toward this end and in this chapter I will review the extensive data on the structure of FN. The results turn out to be extremely interesting and provide a good basis for investigations of the complex biological effects of FN. To provide a context for the following detailed sections, I will first give a brief outline of the general properties of FNs and summarize the main conclusions about their structure.