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Imaging Protein-protein Interactions in vivo

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Published on: October 11, 2010

Integrins: bidirectional, allosteric signaling machines.

Richard O Hynes¹

¹Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Center for Cancer Research, Department of Biology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA. rohynes@mit.edu

|September 26, 2002

Summary

Integrins, crucial adhesion receptors, transmit signals bidirectionally across cell membranes. Structural and cell biology data reveal how conformational changes link extracellular binding to intracellular signaling pathways.

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Area of Science:

Cell Biology
Biochemistry
Structural Biology

Background:

Integrins function as major cell adhesion receptors.
Integrins mediate bidirectional signaling across the plasma membrane.
Integrins connect extracellular matrix interactions to intracellular signaling networks.

Purpose of the Study:

To elucidate the mechanisms by which integrins transmit signals.
To present models for integrin signaling based on recent data.
To explain the role of conformational changes in integrin function.

Main Methods:

Analysis of recent structural data.
Interpretation of cell biological findings.
Development of mechanistic models for integrin signaling.

Main Results:

Integrins transmit signals bidirectionally across the plasma membrane.
Long-range conformational changes are proposed to link extracellular and intracellular domains.
Allosteric equilibria are suggested to couple integrin adhesion and signaling functions.

Conclusions:

Integrin signaling involves coordinated conformational changes.
Structural and cell biological data support allosteric models for integrin function.
Understanding integrin signaling is key to cell adhesion and communication.