Integrin
family of transmembrane glycoproteins consisting of noncovalent heterodimers
Integrins are transmembrane receptors that help cell–cell and cell–extracellular matrix (ECM) adhesion. Upon ligand binding, integrins activate signal transduction pathways that mediate cellular signals such as regulation of the cell cycle, organization of the intracellular cytoskeleton, and movement of new receptors to the cell membrane. The presence of integrins allows rapid and flexible responses to events at the cell surface (e.g. signal platelets to initiate an interaction with coagulation factors).
Several types of integrins exist, and one cell generally has multiple different types on its surface. Integrins are found in all animal cells while integrin-like receptors are found in plant cells.
Integrins work alongside other proteins such as cadherins, the immunoglobulin superfamily cell adhesion molecules, selectins and syndecans, to mediate cell–cell and cell–matrix interaction. Ligands for integrins include fibronectin, vitronectin, collagen and laminin.
Structure
Integrins are obligate heterodimers composed of α and β subunits. Several genes code for multiple isoforms of these subunits, which gives rise to an array of unique integrins with varied activity.
The public source identifies “Integrin” as family of transmembrane glycoproteins consisting of noncovalent heterodimers. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Integrin, family and transmembrane.
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Vocabulary and entity names are the principal evidence signals here, because they determine the precision of every later search. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jun 15, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q409715. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference.
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This entry incorporates text from “Integrin” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.