Laminin trimers composed of α, β, and γ chains are major components of basal laminae (BLs) throughout the body. To date, three α chains (α1–3) have been shown to assemble into at least seven heterotrimers (called laminins 1–7). Genes encoding two additional α chains (α4 and α5) have been cloned, but little is known about their expression, and their protein products have not been identified. Here we generated antisera to recombinant α4 and α5 and used them to identify authentic proteins in tissue extracts. Immunoprecipitation and immunoblotting showed that α4 and α5 assemble into four novel laminin heterotrimers (laminins 8–11: α4β1γ1, α4β2γ1, α5β1γ1, and α5β2γ1, respectively). Using a panel of nucleotide and antibody probes, we surveyed the expression of α1-5 in murine tissues. All five chains were expressed in both embryos and adults, but each was distributed in a distinct pattern at both RNA and protein levels. Overall, α4 and α5 exhibited the broadest patterns of expression, while expression of α1 was the most restricted. Immunohistochemical analysis of kidney, lung, and heart showed that the α chains were confined to extracellular matrix and, with few exceptions, to BLs. All developing and adult BLs examined contained at least one α chain, all α chains were present in multiple BLs, and some BLs contained two or three α chains. Detailed analysis of developing kidney revealed that some individual BLs, including those of the tubule and glomerulus, changed in laminin chain composition as they matured, expressing up to three different α chains and two different β chains in an elaborate and dynamic progression. Interspecific backcross mapping of the five α chain genes revealed that they are distributed on four mouse chromosomes. Finally, we identified a novel full-length α3 isoform encoded by the Lama3 gene, which was previously believed to encode only truncated chains. Together, these results reveal remarkable diversity in BL composition and complexity in BL development.

Laminins, heterotrimers of α, β, and γ chains, are prominent constituents of basal laminae (BLs) throughout the body. Previous studies have shown that laminins affect both myogenesis and synaptogenesis in skeletal muscle. Here we have studied the distribution of the 10 known laminin chains in muscle and peripheral nerve, and assayed the ability of several heterotrimers to affect the outgrowth of motor axons. We show that cultured muscle cells express four different α chains (α1, α2, α4, and α5), and that developing muscles incorporate all four into BLs. The portion of the muscle's BL that occupies the synaptic cleft contains at least three α chains and two β chains, but each is regulated differently. Initially, the α2, α4, α5, and β1 chains are present both extrasynaptically and synaptically, whereas β2 is restricted to synaptic BL from its first appearance. As development proceeds, α2 remains broadly distributed, whereas α4 and α5 are lost from extrasynaptic BL and β1 from synaptic BL. In adults, α4 is restricted to primary synaptic clefts whereas α5 is present in both primary and secondary clefts. Thus, adult extrasynaptic BL is rich in laminin 2 (α2β1γ1), and synaptic BL contains laminins 4 (α2β2γ1), 9 (α4β2γ1), and 11 (α5β2γ1). Likewise, in cultured muscle cells, α2 and β1 are broadly distributed but α5 and β2 are concentrated at acetylcholine receptor–rich “hot spots,” even in the absence of nerves. The endoneurial and perineurial BLs of peripheral nerve also contain distinct laminin chains: α2, β1, γ1, and α4, α5, β2, γ1, respectively. Mutation of the laminin α2 or β2 genes in mice not only leads to loss of the respective chains in both nerve and muscle, but also to coordinate loss and compensatory upregulation of other chains. Notably, loss of β2 from synaptic BL in β2−/− “knockout” mice is accompanied by loss of α5, and decreased levels of α2 in dystrophic α2dy/dy mice are accompanied by compensatory retention of α4. Finally, we show that motor axons respond in distinct ways to different laminin heterotrimers: they grow freely between laminin 1 (α1β1γ1) and laminin 2, fail to cross from laminin 4 to laminin 1, and stop upon contacting laminin 11. The ability of laminin 11 to serve as a stop signal for growing axons explains, in part, axonal behaviors observed at developing and regenerating synapses in vivo.

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Basement membranes are sheet-like cell-adherent extracellular matrices that serve as cell substrata and solid-phase agonists, contributing to tissue organization, stability and differentiation. These matrices are assembled as polymers of laminins and type IV collagens that are tethered to nidogens and proteoglycans. They bind to cell surface molecules that include signal-transducing receptors such as the integrins and dystroglycan and form attachments to adjacent connective tissues. The cell receptors, in turn, provide links between the matrix and underlying cytoskeleton. Genetic diseases of basement membrane and associated components, collectively the basement membrane zone, disrupt the extracellular matrix and/or its linkages to affect nerve, muscle, skin, kidney and other tissues. These diseases can arise due to a loss of matrix integrity, adhesion strength and/or receptormediated signaling. An understanding of the mechanisms of basement membrane zone assembly and resulting structure can provide insights into the development of normal tissues and the pathogenic mechanisms that underlie diverse disorders.

Precise apposition of pre- to postsynaptic specializations is required for optimal function of chemical synapses, but little is known about how it is achieved. At the skeletal neuromuscular junction, active zones (transmitter release sites) in the nerve terminal lie directly opposite junctional folds in the postsynaptic membrane. Few active zones or junctional folds form in mice lacking the laminin beta2 chain, which is normally concentrated in the synaptic cleft. beta2 and the broadly expressed gamma1 chain form heterotrimers with alpha chains, three of which, alpha2, alpha4 and alpha5, are present in the synaptic cleft. Thus, alpha2beta2gamma1, alpha4beta2gamma1 and alpha5beta2gamma1 heterotrimers are all lost in beta2 mutants. In mice lacking laminin alpha4, active zones and junctional folds form in normal numbers, but are not precisely apposed to each other. Thus, formation and localization of synaptic specializations are regulated separately, and alpha4beta2gamma1 (called laminin-9) is critical in the latter process.