Integrin and Cell Adhesion Molecules Methods and Protocols

            Integrins play pivotal roles not only across a wide range of physiological processes including tissue morphogenesis, immune responses, wound healing, and regulation of cell growth and diff

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Molecular Biology™

Series Editor John M. Walker School of Life Sciences University of Hertfordshire Hatfield, Hertfordshire, AL10 9AB, UK

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Integrin and Cell Adhesion Molecules Methods and Protocols

Edited by

Motomu Shimaoka Immune Disease Institute, Program in Cellular and Molecular Medicine at Children’s Hospital Boston, Department of Anesthesia, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA; Department of Molecular Pathobiology and Cell Adhesion Biology, Mie University Graduate School of Medicine, Tsu-City, Mie, JAPAN

Editor Motomu Shimaoka Immune Disease Institute Program in Cellular and Molecular Medicine at Children’s Hospital Boston Department of Anesthesia Harvard Medical School Boston, MA, USA and Department of Molecular Pathobiology and Cell Adhesion Biology Mie University Graduate School of Medicine Tsu-City, Mie, JAPAN [email protected] [email protected]

ISSN 1064-3745 e-ISSN 1940-6029 ISBN 978-1-61779-165-9 e-ISBN 978-1-61779-166-6 DOI 10.1007/978-1-61779-166-6 Springer New York Dordrecht Heidelberg London Library of Congress Control Number: 2011930756 © Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2011 All rights reserved. This work may not be translated or copied in whole or in part without the written permission of the publisher (Humana Press, c/o Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, 233 Spring Street, New York, NY 10013, USA), except for brief excerpts in connection with reviews or scholarly analysis. Use in connection with any form of information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or ­dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed is forbidden. The use in this publication of trade names, trademarks, service marks, and similar terms, even if they are not identified as such, is not to be taken as an expression of opinion as to whether or not they are subject to proprietary rights. Printed on acid-free paper Humana Press is part of Springer Science+Business Media (www.springer.com)

Preface Integrins are the foremost and largest family of cell adhesion molecules with noncovalently associated a and b subunits that mediate cell–cell and cell–extracellular matrix interactions. To date, 19 different integrin a subunits and 8 different integrin b subunits have been reported in vertebrates, forming at least 24 a/b heterodimers and representing the most structurally and functionally diverse cell adhesion molecules. As their name implies, integrins create an integrated connection between the cytoskeleton and attachment points in the extracellular microenvironment, where they mediate force-resistant adhesion, polarization, and cell migration. Integrins play pivotal roles across not only a wide range of physiological processes including tissue morphogenesis, immune responses, wound healing, and regulation of cell growth and differentiation, but also in numerous pathological phenomena such as autoimmunity, thrombosis, and cancer metastasis/progression. Therefore,