Integrins

Stephen C‐T Lam, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, USA
Joseph C Loftus, Mayo Clinic Scottsdale, Scottsdale, Arizona, USA

Published online: January 2006

DOI: 10.1038/npg.els.0005910

Integrins are transmembrane heterodimeric receptor complexes involved in diverse pathophysiological processes by mediating cell adhesion and migration. Integrin–ligand interaction and postligand binding functions of integrins are regulated by intracellular signaling mechanisms.

Keywords: adhesion; migration; extracellular matrix; cytoskeleton; signaling

Figure 1. Schematic representation of an integrin heterodimer. SS in the subunit represents the disulfide bond connecting the heavy and light chains.
Figure 2. The integrin family members. Pairings of integrin and subunits are illustrated.
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 References
    Bouvard D, Brakebusch C, Gustafsson E, et al. (2001) Functional consequences of integrin gene mutations in mice. Circulation Research 89: 211–223.
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 Further Reading
    Calderwood DA, Shattil SJ and Ginsberg MH (2000) Integrins and actin filaments: reciprocal regulation of cell adhesion and signaling. Journal of Biological Chemistry 275: 22607–22610.
    Critchley DR (2000) Focal adhesions: the cytoskeletal connection. Current Opinion in Cell Biology 12: 133–139.
    Giancotti FG and Ruoslahti E (1999) Integrin signaling. Science 285: 1028–1032.
    Hynes RO (2002) Integrins: bidirectional allosteric signaling machines. Cell 110: 673–687.
    book Isacke CM and Horton MA (2000) The Adhesion Molecule Facts Book London: Academic Press.
    Loftus JC and Liddington RC (1997) New insights into integrin–ligand interaction. Journal of Clinical Investigation 99: 2302–2306.
    Woods A and Couchman JR (2000) Integrin modulation by lateral association. Journal of Biological Chemistry 275: 24233–24236.

Related Sub-Topics:

Cell Membranes | Intracellular and Extracellular Signalling | Membrane Proteins | Structure of Cell–Cell Interactions | Signal Transduction | Protein Structure | Molecular Genetics of Common and Complex Disease | Gene and Genome Structure and Organisation
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Article Title: Integrins
 
How to Cite close
Lam, Stephen C‐T, and Loftus, Joseph C(Jan 2006) Integrins. In: eLS. John Wiley & Sons Ltd, Chichester. http://www.els.net [doi: 10.1038/npg.els.0005910]