NORMAL AND ABERRANT FUNCTIONS OF INTEGRINS IN THE ADULT CENTRAL-NERVOUS-SYSTEM

Integrins are heterodimeric proteins mediating cell-cell and cell-extr acellular matrix adhesive connections (Springer T.A., 1990, Nature 346 , 425-434) and signal transduction across the plasma membrane. The imp ortant roles of integrins in neural development and cancer, where they subserve process outgrowth and cell migration, are well documented, b ut information on integrins in the adult central nervous system has be en slower to arrive. Now that strong evidence, both molecular biologic al and immunocytochemical, has been collected, it is useful to specula te on what these interesting proteins may be doing in the adult centra l nervous system. Suggestive data now points to roles in functions cha racterized in part by morphological rearrangements, such as learning a nd memory, and injury responses. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd.