Role of Extracellular Matrix Remodeling in Advanced Biocompatibility

For many years the extracellular matrix (ECM) was thought to serve only as a structural support for tissues. However, as early as 1966, Hauschka and Konigsberg [1] showed that interstitial collagen promoted the conversion of myoblasts to myotubes, and shortly thereafter it was shown that both collagen [2] and glycosaminoglycans [3] play a crucial role in salivary gland morphogenesis.