Loss of beta2-integrin-mediated cytoskeletal linkage reprograms dendritic cells to a mature migratory phenotype.

1.Vicky Louise Morrison, Martyn John James, Katarzyna Grzes, Peter Cook, David Gavin Glass, Terhi Savinko, Hwee San Lek, Christian Gawden-Bone, Colin Watts, Owain Richard Millington, Andrew Scott MacDonald, Susanna Carola Fagerholm.

Integrins are adhesion molecules expressed on the surface of cells. They play a crucial role in “integrating” the cell exterior and the interior cytoskeleton in cells. The beta2-integrin family members are highly expressed in dendritic cells that are very important in immune responses. Dendritic cells pick up antigens in inflamed tissues and move to lymph nodes where they present the antigen to T cells and activate them to help fight infection.