New Insights into Integrins: 2nd Edition
A special issue of Biomolecules (ISSN 2218-273X). This special issue belongs to the section "Biological Factors".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 25 July 2026 | Viewed by 1
Special Issue Editor
2. Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine, University of California School of Medicine, Research III Suite 3300, 4645 Second Ave., Sacramento, CA 95817, USA
3. VA Northern California Health Care System, 150 Muir Road, Martinez, CA 94553, USA
Interests: integrin-growth factor crosstalk; regulation of integrin activation; identification of new integrin ligands
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Following a very successful first run of a previous Special Issue titled “New Insights into Integrins” (https://www.mdpi.com/journal/biomolecules/special_issues/E0OA1M3T4O), we now announce the launch of the second edition, titled “New Insights into Integrins: 2nd Edition”.
Integrins were originally identified as a family of receptors for extracellular molecules (e.g., fibronectin) and cell surface molecules (e.g., ICAM-1) in the 1980s. We and other labs discovered that integrins also interact with soluble ligands such as growth factors (e.g., FGF-1, IGF-1). Almost a decade ago, several growth factors were found to bind to integrins and cognate receptors simultaneously and generate integrin-growth factor–cognate receptor ternary complex (ternary complex model), and growth factor mutants defective in integrin binding are defective in signaling and act as antagonists. It has been recently shown that a6b1-FGF2-FGFR ternary complex plays a critical role in stem cell maintenance. Also, we identified an allosteric site of integrins (site 2), which is distinct from the classical RGD-binding site. Several integrin ligands (e.g., inflammatory chemokines and inflammatory proteins such as secreted PLA2-IIA) bind and induce integrin activation in an allosteric manner. Site 2 was shown to be a binding site for inflammatory lipid mediator (25-hydroxycholesterol) and is involved in inflammatory signaling in innate immunity. The integrin-growth factor interaction and allosteric activation through site 2 would be new therapeutic targets. This issue on “New Insights into Integrins” is designed to facilitate the progress of newly opened fields of integrins.
Prof. Dr. Yoshikazu Takada
Guest Editor
Manuscript Submission Information
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Keywords
- integrins
- growth factors
- ligands
- allosteric binding
- inflammation-induced activation
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Related Special Issue
- New Insights into Integrins in Biomolecules (6 articles)
