Integrins in T cell physiology

Alessandra Bertoni, Oscar Alabiso, Alessandra Silvia Galetto, Gianluca Baldanzi

Research output: Contribution to journalReview articlepeer-review

Abstract

From the thymus to the peripheral lymph nodes, integrin-mediated interactions with neighbor cells and the extracellular matrix tune T cell behavior by organizing cytoskeletal remodeling and modulating receptor signaling. LFA-1 (αLβ2 integrin) and VLA-4 (α4β1 integrin) play a key role throughout the T cell lifecycle from thymocyte differentiation to lymphocyte extravasation and finally play a fundamental role in organizing immune synapse, providing an essential costimulatory signal for the T cell receptor. Apart from tuning T cell signaling, integrins also contribute to homing to specific target organs as exemplified by the importance of α4β7 in maintaining the gut immune system. However, apart from those well-characterized examples, the physiological significance of the other integrin dimers expressed by T cells is far less understood. Thus, integrin-mediated cell-to-cell and cell-to-matrix interactions during the T cell lifespan still represent an open field of research.

Original languageEnglish
Article number485
JournalInternational Journal of Molecular Sciences
Volume19
Issue number2
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 6 Feb 2018

Keywords

  • Adhesion
  • Costimulation
  • Cytoskeleton
  • Signal 2
  • Tension

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