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Free keywords:
TALIN HEAD DOMAIN; INTEGRIN ACTIVATION; STRUCTURAL BASIS;
CRYSTAL-STRUCTURE; ACTIN-BINDING; INTRAMOLECULAR ASSOCIATION; NANOSCALE
ARCHITECTURE; EXTRACELLULAR-MATRIX; VINCULIN ACTIVATION; CYTOPLASMIC
DOMAINSBiochemistry & Molecular Biology; actin; integrin; PIP2; talin; vinculin;
Abstract:
Focal adhesions (FA) are large macromolecular assemblies relevant for various cellular and pathological events such as migration, polarization, and metastatic cancer formation. At FA sites at the migrating periphery of a cell, hundreds of players gather and form a network to respond to extra cellular stimuli transmitted by the integrin receptor, the most upstream component within a cell, initiating the FA signaling pathway. Numerous cellular experiments have been performed to understand the FA architecture and functions; however, their intricate network formation hampers unraveling the precise molecular actions of individual players. Here, in vitro bottom-up reconstitution presents an advantageous approach for elucidating the FA machinery and the hierarchical crosstalk of involved cellular players.
