Cross Talk among TGF-β Signaling Pathways, Integrins, and the Extracellular Matrix
- 1Departments of Medicine and Cell Biology, New York University, New York, New York 10016
- 2Department of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, California 94143-2922
- Correspondence: john.munger{at}nyumc.org
Abstract
The growth factor TGF-β is secreted in a latent complex consisting of three proteins: TGF-β, an inhibitor (latency-associated protein, LAP, which is derived from the TGF-β propeptide) and an ECM-binding protein (one of the latent TGF-β binding proteins, or LTBPs). LTBPs interact with fibrillins and other ECM components and thus function to localize latent TGF-β in the ECM. LAP contains an integrin-binding site (RGD), and several RGD-binding integrins are able to activate latent TGF-β through binding this site. Mutant mice defective in integrin-mediated activators, and humans and mice with fibrillin gene mutations, show the critical role of ECM and integrins in regulating TGF-β signaling.
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