Tenascin-C (TNC or Tenascin) is an extracellular matrix glycoprotein with multiple functions during development and in the adult []. It is expressed in the developing embryo. In adults expression is constrained to sites with high cell turnover, such as stem cell niches and the central nervous system (CNS), in addition to regions which undergo significant tensile stress, such as tendons, ligaments and smooth muscle fibres. However, most healthy adult tissues exhibit negligible tenascin-C levels []. Its splice variants are highly expressed in cancer tissues []. Tenascin-C interacts with integrins, these interactions can mediate cell proliferation, cell motility, and cell survival [].Tenascins are extracellular matrix glycoproteins that act both as integrin ligands and as modifiers of fibronectin-integrin interactions to regulate cell adhesion, migration, proliferation and differentiation. Tenascins are usually composed of repeated epidermal growth factor (EGF)-like domains, fibronectin-type III (FNIII) domains and a C-terminal fibrinogen related domain (FReD) [].
