Genetic Interactions with Integrins during Wing Morphogenesis in Drosophila
This extract was created in the absence of an abstract.
Excerpt
Cell adhesion is of critical importance during the development of a complex, multicellular organism. As cells divide and differentiate, they must also contact and selectively adhere to one another as they gradually create the shape and structures of the adult form. Additionally, such shaping is influenced by contacts with the space around the cells, the extracellular matrix, whereas the shape of the individual cells themselves is altered and maintained by the cytoskeleton. Integrins, as receptors for extracellular matrix components as well as cell-surface molecules, thus play an important role in these processes. Integrins are αβ heterodimers that serve to connect components of the extracellular matrix (or certain cell-surface molecules) with the cytoskeleton on the inside of the cell via a transmembrane connection (for a recent review of integrins, see Hynes 1992). In Drosophila, the position-specific (PS) integrins are composed of two α chains, PS1α and PS2α, and a single β...
