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Related Concept Videos

Integrins01:10

Integrins

Animal and protozoan cells do not have cell walls to help maintain shape and provide structural stability. Instead, these eukaryotic cells secrete a sticky mass of carbohydrates and proteins into the spaces between adjacent cells. This network of proteins and molecules is called an extracellular matrix or ECM.
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,...
Activation of Integrins01:15

Activation of Integrins

Integrins bind ligands and transmit information from outside the cell to inside or vice-versa through an "outside-in signaling" or "inside-out signaling."
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.
Intracellular Signaling Affects Focal Adhesions01:17

Intracellular Signaling Affects Focal Adhesions

Integrins act both as extracellular input receivers and as intracellular processing activators. As their name suggests, integrins are entirely integrated into the membrane structure. Their hydrophobic membrane-spanning regions interact with the phospholipid bilayer's hydrophobic region. These membrane receptors provide extracellular attachment sites for effectors like hormones and growth factors. They activate intracellular response cascades when their effectors are bound and active.
Some...
Overview of Cell-Matrix Interactions01:24

Overview of Cell-Matrix Interactions

The extracellular matrix or ECM holds cells together to form a tissue and allows the cells within the tissue to communicate. ECM comprises proteins such as fibronectin, collagen, laminin, etc. The most abundant protein in this space is collagen. Collagen fibers are interwoven with carbohydrate-containing protein molecules called proteoglycans. ECM allows cell migration and provides a structural scaffold at cell adhesion that anchors the cell when the extracellular matrix proteins interact with...
Selectins01:25

Selectins

Cell adhesion is  an essential aspect of multicellularity. While stable cell interactions usually occur between cells of the same type, transient cell interactions occur between cells of different tissue types, such as between neutrophils and endothelial cells. Selectins are one class of cell adhesion molecules (CAMs) that bind carbohydrate ligands to form transient cell adhesion. They are rod-like proteins with a long extracellular part of variable length ending with the lectin domain, which...
Immunoglobulin-like Cell Adhesion Molecules01:31

Immunoglobulin-like Cell Adhesion Molecules

Immunoglobulin-like cell adhesion molecules or Ig-CAMs are a versatile group of cell surface glycoproteins belonging to the immunoglobulin protein superfamily. Ig-CAMs possess the characteristic immunoglobulin protein domains and other domains such as the fibronectin type III domain. The Ig domains are glycosylated to varying degrees in different Ig-CAMs.
Ig-CAMs exhibit either homophilic binding (to other Ig-CAMs) or heterophilic binding (to other ligands such as integrins). While most Ig-CAMs...

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 29, 2026

A Flow Cytometry-Based High-Throughput Technique for Screening Integrin-Inhibitory Drugs
04:15

A Flow Cytometry-Based High-Throughput Technique for Screening Integrin-Inhibitory Drugs

Published on: February 2, 2024

Overview: studying integrins in vivo.

Clifford A Lowell1, Tanya N Mayadas

  • 1Department of Laboratory Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA. Clifford.Lowell@ucsf.edu

Methods in Molecular Biology (Clifton, N.J.)
|September 13, 2011
PubMed
Summary

Integrins are crucial cell adhesion proteins essential for development and physiology. Their absence causes distinct defects, yet some cells function without them, highlighting their complex roles in integrating signals.

Area of Science:

  • Cell Biology
  • Developmental Biology
  • Biochemistry

Background:

  • Integrins are transmembrane proteins mediating cell-cell and cell-matrix communication.
  • They are vital for development and physiological processes, often under mechanical stress.
  • Genetic disruptions of integrins cause specific abnormalities in various organisms.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To explore the diverse functions of integrins in biological systems.
  • To understand the consequences of integrin absence in different cell types and organisms.
  • To elucidate how integrins integrate extracellular stimuli into intracellular signals.

Main Methods:

  • Review of genetic deletion studies in model organisms (Drosophila, mice).
  • Analysis of human inherited diseases linked to integrin dysfunction.

More Related Videos

Imaging Integrin Tension and Cellular Force at Submicron Resolution with an Integrative Tension Sensor
07:20

Imaging Integrin Tension and Cellular Force at Submicron Resolution with an Integrative Tension Sensor

Published on: April 25, 2019

Static Adhesion Assay for the Study of Integrin Activation in T Lymphocytes
09:14

Static Adhesion Assay for the Study of Integrin Activation in T Lymphocytes

Published on: June 13, 2014

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: May 29, 2026

A Flow Cytometry-Based High-Throughput Technique for Screening Integrin-Inhibitory Drugs
04:15

A Flow Cytometry-Based High-Throughput Technique for Screening Integrin-Inhibitory Drugs

Published on: February 2, 2024

Imaging Integrin Tension and Cellular Force at Submicron Resolution with an Integrative Tension Sensor
07:20

Imaging Integrin Tension and Cellular Force at Submicron Resolution with an Integrative Tension Sensor

Published on: April 25, 2019

Static Adhesion Assay for the Study of Integrin Activation in T Lymphocytes
09:14

Static Adhesion Assay for the Study of Integrin Activation in T Lymphocytes

Published on: June 13, 2014

  • Examination of integrin roles in specialized processes like stem cell niches and tumor vascularization.

    • Main Results:

    • Integrin absence leads to distinct defects, such as epithelial separation and skin blistering.
    • Integrins play specialized roles in stem cell niches, tumor angiogenesis, and immune cell migration.
    • Surprisingly, some cells, like dendritic cells, can migrate effectively without major integrins.
    • Integrins synergize with other receptors to modulate cell proliferation, differentiation, shape, and migration.

    Conclusions:

    • Integrins are essential for integrating extracellular cues into intracellular signals, influencing cell behavior.
    • Despite their critical roles, some cellular functions can proceed without specific integrins, indicating functional redundancy or alternative pathways.
    • Integrins are a primordial family of adhesion receptors with conserved and specialized functions across species.