INTEGRIN ADHESION RECEPTORS - STRUCTURE, FUNCTION AND IMPLICATIONS FOR BIOMEDICINE

Over the past decade, multi-disciplinary approaches have led to the di scovery and characterization of several classes of adhesion molecules, Under normal conditions, these molecules provide support for cells, r egulate cell migration and contain information that cells use when sen sing their environment. In disease, adhesive function is frequently co mpromised and results in tissue disorder, aberrant cell migration and dysregulation of signalling pathways. The integrins are a major family of adhesion receptors produced by most cell types and ape a means by which the cell senses its immediate environment and responds to change s in extracellular matrix composition. Recent years have seen major ad vances in our understanding of integrin-ligand interactions, and have revealed a structurally dynamic family of receptors capable of transla ting information into and out of the cell.