Laminin Spaminin

I get them, you get them, all God’s children get them… email links to “you don’t want to miss this” or “really cute” and the ever popular “I don’t usually forward things but this one really hit home with me.” I recently got a link to a youtube clip with Louie Giglio, Christian inspirational speaker and founder of Choice Ministries, entitled, “Laminin.” Giglio recounts how a micro-biologist approached him after a concert and told him about laminin. No, no this is not some new dietary supplement or pyramid scheme product… it’s a glycoprotein that connects cells in our bodies. The scientific explanation is a swirl of buzz words and Sci-fi incantations –well, you be the judge…

Laminin, gamma 1 (formerly LAMB2), also known as LAMC1, is a human gene. Laminins, a family of extracellular matrix glycoproteins, are the major noncollagenous constituent of basement membranes. They have been implicated in a wide variety of biological processes including cell adhesion, differentiation, migration, signaling, neurite outgrowth and metastasis. Laminins are composed of 3 non identical chains: laminin alpha, beta and gamma (formerly A, B1, and B2, respectively) and they form a cruciform structure consisting of 3 short arms, each formed by a different chain, and a long arm composed of all 3 chains.

If you took the time to read the fine print you noticed that this cell linker is cruciform shaped which was the point of the youtube link. Giglio suggest that when we peek into the micro-biology and building blocks of life we find that we are held together by a cross shape glycoprotein matrix. He quickly jumps to Colossians 1:15-20 where Paul in discussing the supremacy of Christ says, “He is before all things, and in him all things hold together… making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.” This anthem hails that all things were created…visible and invisible… by Him and for Him! These crosses invisible to the naked eye remind us that Jesus holds all things together –He’s the molecular glue secured in a cross!

This is where the sound effect of majestic music is abruptly halted as it is overpowered by the scratching of the phonographic needle as it is pulled across the record. And I reluctantly say, “Hey, wait a minute!” (Reluctant because boy, does that laminin stuff preach). None-the-less, in the small print scientific explanation is also the information that much of the research on laminins has been in regards to its connection to metastasis… that is, its role in cancer and specifically colon cancer. This really is a cross to bear… and a reminder that Jesus does hold all things together but not by secret crosses but by unexpected love that redeemed us on an all too visible cross! -DAN