Control of integrin affinity for ligands (integrin activation) is essential for normal cell adhesion, migration, and assembly of an extracellular matrix. Integrin activation is usually mediated through the integrin beta subunit cytoplasmic tail and can be regulated by many different biochemical signaling pathways. We report that specific binding of the cytoskeletal protein talin to integrin beta subunit cytoplasmic tails leads to the conformational rearrangements of integrin extracellular domains that increase their affinity. Thus, regulated binding of talin to integrin beta tails is a final common element of cellular signaling cascades that control integrin activation.

The ␤ subunit cytoplasmic domains of integrin adhesion receptors are necessary for the connection of these receptors to the actin cytoskeleton. The cytoplasmic protein, talin, binds to ␤ integrin cytoplasmic tails and actin filaments, hence forming an integrin-cytoskeletal linkage. We used recombinant structural mimics of ␤ 1 A, ␤ 1 D and ␤ 3 integrin cytoplasmic tails to characterize integrin-binding sites within talin. Here we report that an integrin-binding site is localized within the N-terminal talin head domain. The binding of the talin head domain to integrin ␤ tails is specific in that it is abrogated by a single point mutation that disrupts integrin localization to talin-rich focal adhesions. Integrin-cytoskeletal interactions regulate integrin affinity for ligands (activation). Overexpression of a fragment of talin containing the head domain led to activation of integrin ␣ IIb ␤ 3 ; activation was dependent on the presence of both the talin head domain and the integrin ␤ 3 cytoplasmic tail. The head domain of talin thus binds to integrins to form a link to the actin cytoskeleton and can thus regulate integrin function.

Integrin receptors provide a dynamic tightly-regulated link between the extracellular matrix (or cellular counter-receptors) and intracellular cytoskeletal and signalling networks, enabling cells to sense and respond to their chemical and physical environment. Talins and kindlins, two families of FERM–domain proteins, bind the cytoplasmic tail of integrins, recruit cytoskeletal and signalling proteins involved in mechano-transduction, and synergise to activate integrin binding to extracellular ligands. New data reveal the domain structure of full-length talin, provide insights into talin-mediated integrin activation, and show that RIAM recruits talin to the plasma membrane while vinculin stabilises talin in cell–matrix junctions. How Kindlins’ act is less well defined, but disease-causing mutations show that kindlins are also essential for integrin activation, adhesion, cell spreading and signalling.

The ability of adhesion receptors to transmit biochemical signals and mechanical force across cell membranes depends on interactions with the actin cytoskeleton. Filamins are large, actin-crosslinking proteins that connect multiple transmembrane and signaling proteins to the cytoskeleton. Here, we describe the high-resolution structure of an interface between filamin A and an integrin adhesion receptor. When bound, the integrin beta cytoplasmic tail forms an extended beta strand that interacts with beta strands C and D of the filamin immunoglobulin-like domain (IgFLN) 21. This interface is common to many integrins, and we suggest it is a prototype for other IgFLN domain interactions. Notably, the structurally defined filamin binding site overlaps with that of the integrin-regulator talin, and these proteins compete for binding to integrin tails, allowing integrin-filamin interactions to impact talin-dependent integrin activation. Phosphothreonine-mimicking mutations inhibit filamin, but not talin, binding, indicating that kinases may modulate this competition and provide additional means to control integrin functions.

The binding of cytoplasmic proteins, such as talin, to the cytoplasmic domains of integrin adhesion receptors mediates bidirectional signal transduction. Here we report the crystal structure of the principal integrin binding and activating fragment of talin, alone and in complex with fragments of the beta 3 integrin tail. The FERM (four point one, ezrin, radixin, and moesin) domain of talin engages integrins via a novel variant of the canonical phosphotyrosine binding (PTB) domain-NPxY ligand interaction that may be a prototype for FERM domain recognition of transmembrane receptors. In combination with NMR and mutational analysis, our studies reveal the critical interacting elements of both talin and the integrin beta 3 tail, providing structural paradigms for integrin linkage to the cell interior.

There was an error published in J. Cell Sci. 122, 159-163.It has been brought to our attention that there is an error in the poster published in association with this article. Non-phosphorylated ICAP1 is shown to bind to the cytoplasmic tails of integrin β-subunits, whereas Ca 2+ /calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II (CaMKII)-mediated phosphorylation of ICAP1 is depicted as driving dissociation of ICAP1 from integrin β-tails. Although ICAP1 is indeed a substrate for CaMKII, the phosphorylation of ICAP1 on Thr38 is likely to enhance ICAP1 binding to β1 tails rather than inhibit the interaction, and this might account for CaMKII-mediated inhibition of α5β1 activation (Bouvard et al., 1998; Bouvard and Block, 1998).The authors apologise for this mistake and for any confusion caused.

We have, for the first time, ordered a pathway from agonist stimulation to integrin activation and established the Rap1-induced formation of an "integrin activation complex," containing RIAM and talin, that binds to and activates the integrin.

Adhesion of a biological cell to another cell or the extracellular matrix involves complex couplings between cell biochemistry, structural mechanics, and surface bonding. The interactions are dynamic and act through association and dissociation of bonds between very large molecules at rates that change considerably under stress. Combining molecular cell biology with single-molecule force spectroscopy provides a powerful tool for exploring the complexity of cell adhesion, that is, how cell signaling processes strengthen adhesion bonds and how forces applied to cell-surface bonds act on intracellular sites to catalyze chemical processes or switch molecular interactions on and off. Probing adhesion receptors on strategically engineered cells with force during functional stimulation can reveal key nodes of communication between the mechanical and chemical circuitry of a cell.