ACTB, ACTN1, AKT1, AKT2, ARHGEF6, ATF2, ATF3, BAD, BCAR1, CASP3, CASP9, CCND1, CDC42, CDH1, CDH2, CDH5, CEBPB, CFL1, CHUK, COL1A1, COL1A2, COL2A1, CREB1, CTNNB1, DSP, EGFR, ERBB2, FERMT2, FLNA, FN1, FOS, FRAP1, GSK3B, HIF1A, HNF1A, HNF4A, IGF1R, IL6, ILK, IRS1, ITGA2B, ITGAV, ITGB1, ITGB2, ITGB3, JUN, KDR, KIT, KRT18, ...LIMS1, LIMS2, MAPK1, MAPK3, MAPK8, MAPK9, MUC1, MYC, MYH7, MYH9, NACA, NCK2, NFKB1, NOS2, PARVA, PARVB, PDPK1, PIK3CA, PIK3R1, PPP1R14B, PPP2CA, PTEN, PTGS2, PTK2, PTK2B, PXN, RAC1, RELA, RHOA, RPS6KA4, RPS6KA5, RSU1, SNAI1, SNAI2, SPP1, TCF7L2, TESK1, TGFB1I1, TMSB4Y, TNF, TNFRSF1A, VEGFA, VIM
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The ECM (Extracellular Matrix) provides the structural framework for the formation of tissues and organs. The ECM binds to substrate adhesion molecules on the surface of cells and influences various intracellular signaling pathways that regulate survival, ... proliferation, polarity and differentiation. The important families of adhesion molecules that bind to the ECM are the Integrins. Integrins consist of Alpha and Beta-subunits and are composed of large extracellular domains and relatively small cytoplasmic domains. Ligand binding activates signaling cascades that lead to the assembly of a multiprotein complex at the site of cell adhesion to the ECM. These events have two important impacts on the cell: they forge a connection between the ECM and the Actin cytoskeleton, and they alter the fluxes of many intracellular signaling pathways. Three proteins which act as important regulators of Integrin mediated signaling are the ILK (Integrin Linked Kinase) and the adaptor proteins Pinch (Particularly Interesting Cys-His-rich Protein) and Parv (Parvin), among which ILK is the major regulator of Integrin mediated signaling. These molecules form a heterotrimeric complex, which is referred to as the IPP complex and is named after its components in order of their discovery. The IPP complex functions both as an adaptor between Integrins and the Actin cytoskeleton and as a hub that regulates several signaling pathways. The main function of ILK is to connect Integrins to the cytoskeleton. ILK recruits other adaptor molecules into a large complex to regulate Actin dynamics and Integrin function.
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