Involvement of Transmembrane Domain Interactions in Signal Transduction by α/β Integrins*

By D. Schneider, Donald M. Engelman. Journal of Biological Chemistry, 2004

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The α and β subunits of α/β heterodimeric integrins function together to bind ligands in the extracellular region and transduce signals across cellular membranes. A possible function for the transmembrane regions in integrin signaling has been proposed from structural and computational data. We have analyzed the capacity of the integrin α2, αIIb, α4, β1, β3, and β7 transmembrane domains to form homodimers and/or heterodimers. Our data suggest that the integrin transmembrane helices can help to stabilize heterodimeric integrins but that the interactions do not specifically associate particular pairs of α and β subunits; rather, the α/β subunit interaction constrains the extramembranous domains, facilitating signal transduction by a promiscuous transmembrane helix-helix association.

Subfields: Immunology, Immunology and Allergy, Molecular Biology

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/34fe961e27f26b9f16a68d04202074688162448b