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Nature 432, 27-28 (4 November 2004) | doi:10.1038/432027a; Published online 3 November 2004

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Cell biology:  Adhesion articulated

A. Paul Mould1 & Martin J. Humphries1

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A new structure of the 'head' region of an integrin protein explains the remarkable vertical extension that enables these molecules to rise to the task of mediating cell adhesion.

If they are to survive and move, cells must be able to stick to their surroundings. Integrin proteins enable a bidirectional control of cell adhesiveness, by dynamically coupling the matrix of molecules found outside the cell to the cell's internal 'skeleton'.

  1. A. Paul Mould and Martin J. Humphries are at the Wellcome Trust Centre for Cell-Matrix Research, Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Manchester, Manchester M13 9PT, UK.
    e-mail: Email: martin.humphries@man.ac.uk

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