Extracellular Matrix Expression, Organization, and Interaction with Heart Myocytes During Development and Disease

The extracellular matrix (ECM) of the heart is intimately associated with cardiac function in development and disease. The heart ECM is composed of the interstitial collagens, including predominantly type I and type III collagen, various proteoglycans and noncollagenous glycoproteins such as laminin and fibronectin [2, 7, 22]. These ECM components are organized into an elaborate three-dimensional network which is associated with the structure and physiology of the heart.