This antibody is well suited to detect extracellular matrix proteins in normal as well as disease state tissues. Disruption of tissue organization is the hallmark of neoplasia. Malignant lesions can be distinguished from benign by examining the breakdown of basement membranes and loss of 3-dimensional architecture. Malignant cells are presumed to use matrix metalloproteases to degrade barriers created by the extracellular matrix which then allows metastasis to occur. Collagenases, stomelysins and gelatinases can collectively degrade all of the various components of the extracellular matrix, including fibrillar and non-fibrillar collagens and basement membrane glycoproteins.