Abstract
The movement of leukocytes from the blood into peripheral tissues is a central feature of immune surveillance, but also contributes to the pathogenesis of inflammatory and autoimmune diseases. Integrins are a family of adhesion and signaling molecules made up of paired α and β subunits, and the integrin α4β1 plays a prominent role in the trafficking of mononuclear leukocytes. We have previously described the direct interaction of the signaling adaptor molecule paxillin with the cytoplasmic domain of the α4 integrin subunit. This interaction is critical for α4β1 integrin dependent cell adhesion under shear flow conditions as it provides a needed connection to the actin cytoskeleton. Furthermore, the α4-paxillin interaction is required for effective α4β1 dependent leukocyte migration and does so through the temporal and spatial regulation of the small GTPase Rac. These findings make the α4-paxillin interaction a potentially attractive therapeutic target in controlling leukocyte trafficking.
Similar content being viewed by others
Article PDF
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
About this article
Cite this article
Rose, D. The role of the α4 integrin-paxillin interaction in regulating leukocyte trafficking. Exp Mol Med 38, 191–195 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1038/emm.2006.23
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/emm.2006.23
Keywords
This article is cited by
-
Rac Attack: Modulation of the Small GTPase Rac in Inflammatory Bowel Disease and Thiopurine Therapy
Molecular Diagnosis & Therapy (2016)
-
Immunomodulatory effect of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) at the clinically available doses
Archives of Pharmacal Research (2007)