Characterization of commercial laminin preparations from human placenta in comparison to recombinant laminin-211, -411, and -511

This paper compares purified laminins to human recombinant laminins. The major findings are that laminin preparations that have been purified from different tissues (in contrast to recombinantly produced laminins) consist of fragmented proteins, different laminin isoforms and unwanted, contaminating fibronectin. In addition to undefined and heterogenous preparations, they show large batch-to-batch variations. In conclusion, only human recombinant laminins maintain the full integrity and biological activity of laminins and make them the optimal preparations for cell cultivation.