Modeling the microenvironment special issue

Studying the complexity of human physiology and pathology requires the utilization of effective in vitro and in vivo models. This year marks the 40th anniversary since the discovery of one of these models, Matrigel (Grant et al., 1989; Kleinman et al. 1992; Passaniti et al. 2021). This editorial introduces a very special issue of Journal of Cell Communication and Signaling which has two purposes: one is to commemorate this anniversary; the other is to acknowledge the essential contributions of George Martin to not only this discovery, but also his overall contribution to extracellular matrix biology. When in charge of the science at FibroGen, George recruited not only myself, but also individuals essential for the early successes of FibroGen, including: Mark diNicholo and Patti Segarini. These people were principally responsible for the science that resulted in the establishment of FibroGen’s first two partnerships, with Taisho and Sankyo. George also raised global interest in CCN proteins by creating key relationships with academia. For example, he invited trainees/research scientists—including Richard Stratton, Xu Shi-wen and Alan Holmes from the Royal Free Hospital in London—to visit FibroGen. Moreover, he established essential collaborations with diabetes and liver fibrosis researchers, such as Roel Goldschmeding, Bruce Riser and David Brigstock, all of whom have made major contributions to CCN biology. Indeed, George's encouragement directly or indirectly led to significant developments in the early phases of research on the CCN proteins, and important publications (Riser et al. 2000; Shiwen et al. 2000; Chen et al. 2001; Nagaraja et al. 2012; Kinashi et al. 2017). His efforts, therefore, contributed to the initial growth of the International CCN Society, and, ultimately, to the establishment of this journal.

In this special issue, we honor the anniversary of the discovery of Matrigel and the contribution of George Martin to science by presenting recent developments regarding cell: cell communication models and CCN/matricellular proteins (such as: Muntyanu et al. 2021; Nyaga et al. 2022; Ren et al. 2022; Zolfghagari et al. 2021).