The product encoded by this gene is a laminin that belongs to a family of basement membrane proteins. This protein is a beta subunit laminin, which together with an alpha and a gamma subunit, forms laminin-5. Mutations in this gene cause epidermolysis bullosa junctional Herlitz type, and generalized atrophic benign epidermolysis bullosa, diseases that are characterized by blistering of the skin. Multiple alternatively spliced transcript variants that encode the same protein have been found for this gene. [provided by RefSeq, Jul 2008],disease:Defects in LAMB3 are a cause of epidermolysis bullosa junctional Herlitz type (H-JEB) [MIM:226700], also known as junctional epidermolysis bullosa Herlitz-Pearson type. JEB defines a group of blistering skin diseases characterized by tissue separation which occurs within the dermo-epidermal basement membrane. H-JEB is a severe, infantile and lethal form. Death occurs usually within the first six months of life. Occasionally, children survive to teens. H-JEB is marked by bullous lesions at birth and extensive denudation of skin and mucous membranes that may be hemorrhagic.,disease:Defects in LAMB3 are a cause of generalized atrophic benign epidermolysis bullosa (GABEB) [MIM:226650]. GABEB is a non-lethal, adult form of junctional epidermolysis bullosa characterized by life-long blistering of the skin, associated with hair and tooth abnormalities.,domain:Domain VI is globular.,domain:The alpha-helical domains I and II are thought to interact with other laminin chains to form a coiled coil structure.,function:Binding to cells via a high affinity receptor, laminin is thought to mediate the attachment, migration and organization of cells into tissues during embryonic development by interacting with other extracellular matrix components.,similarity:Contains 1 laminin N-terminal domain.,similarity:Contains 6 laminin EGF-like domains.,subunit:Laminin is a complex glycoprotein, consisting of three different polypeptide chains (alpha, beta, gamma), which are bound to each other by disulfide bonds into a cross-shaped molecule comprising one long and three short arms with globules at each end. Beta-3 is a subunit of laminin-5 (epiligrin/kalinin/nicein).,tissue specificity:Found in the basement membranes (major component).,
