glance

Proteoglycans are abundant components of the cell surface and extracellular matrix that mediate critical interactions between cells and their environment. They play a variety of biological roles in normal tissues and in response to injury and disease. Proteoglycans regulate the distribution of extracellular signaling molecules such as morphogens and chemokines, and modulate signaling events at the cell surface that influence cell fate determination, proliferation, adhesion and motility. Secreted proteoglycans can also serve as structural constituents of the matrix