Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 20, 2026

Static Adhesion Assay for the Study of Integrin Activation in T Lymphocytes
Published on: June 13, 2014
Focal adhesion kinase signaling at sites of integrin-mediated adhesion controls axon pathfinding
Estuardo Robles1, Timothy M Gomez
1Department of Anatomy and Neuroscience Training Program, University of Wisconsin, 257 Bardeen Labs-SMI, 1300 University Avenue, Madison, Wisconsin 53706, USA.
Abstract:
Extracellular matrix (ECM) components regulate neurite outgrowth in tissue culture and in vivo. Live imaging of phosphotyrosine (PY) signals revealed that Xenopus laevis growth cones extending on permissive ECM substrata assemble adhesive point contacts containing enriched levels of tyrosine-phosphorylated proteins. Whereas focal adhesion kinase (FAK) signaling is dispensable for the assembly of focal adhesions in non-neuronal cells, FAK activity is required for the formation of growth cone point contacts. FAK-dependent point contacts promote rapid neurite outgrowth by stabilizing lamellipodial protrusions on permissive ECM substrata. Moreover, local FAK activity is required for ECM-dependent growth cone turning in vitro, suggesting that FAK may control axon pathfinding in vivo. Consistent with this possibility, proper growth and guidance of Rohon-Beard sensory neurons and spinal commissural interneurons requires FAK activity. These findings identify FAK as a key regulator of axon growth and guidance downstream of growth cone-ECM interactions.
Related Concept Videos
Intracellular Signaling Affects Focal Adhesions
Some...
Activation of Integrins
In "outside-in signaling," external factors in the extracellular space bind to exposed ligand binding sites on integrins. This causes the inactive protein to undergo a conformational change to become active. Integrins are often clustered on the cell membrane. Repetitive and regularly spaced ligand binding events provide an effective stimulus.
Cytoskeletal Coordination in Cell Migration
Tension Response at Adherens Junctions
α-Catenin as a Mechanosensory Protein
The α-catenin of adherens junctions is an allosteric protein with three VH (vinculin homology) domains...
Anchoring Junctions
Integrins
Some ECM proteins assemble into a basement membrane to which the remaining components adhere. Proteoglycans typically form the bulk of the ECM while fibrous proteins, like collagen,...

