Integrins and Development

Cell adhesion is essential for the organization of multicellular organisms
Cell adhesion is essential for the organization of multicellular organisms. Indeed, various types of cell adhesion receptors, including cadherins and integrins, are present in animals ranging from nematodes and insects to vertebrates. In this book, we focus on the integrin family, which is shared among all metazoans, but has expanded considerably with vertebrate evolution. Since the cloning of the first integrin subunit, some twenty years ago, integrin biology has beenand still isa topic of intense study. Integrin-mediated adhesion is a regulated process that, in turn, regulates the organization of the actin cytoskeleton. Moreover, it has become clear from in vitro analyses that integrin-mediated adhesion can affect virtually all aspects of cellular behaviorincluding polarity, motility, proliferation, survival, and differentiation. This book aims to provide an extensi