In injured skin, collagenase-1 (matrix metalloproteinase-1 (MMP-1)) is induced in migrating keratinocytes. This site-specific expression is regulated by binding of the ␣ 2  1 integrin with dermal type I collagen, and the catalytic activity of MMP-1 is required for keratinocyte migration. Because of this functional association among substrate/ligand, receptor, and proteinase, we assessed whether the integrin also directs the compartmentalization of MMP-1 to its matrix target. Indeed, pro-MMP-1 co-localized to sites of ␣ 2  1 contacts in migrating keratinocytes. Furthermore, pro-MMP-1 co-immunoprecipitated with ␣ 2  1 from keratinocytes, and ␣ 2  1 co-immunoprecipitated with pro-MMP-1. No other MMPs bound ␣ 2  1 , and no other integrins interacted with MMP-1. Pro-MMP-1 also provided a substrate for ␣ 2  1 -dependent adhesion of platelets. Complex formation on keratinocytes was most efficient on native type I collagen and reduced or ablated on denatured or cleaved collagen. Competition studies suggested that the ␣ 2 I domain interacts with the linker and hemopexin domains of pro-MMP-1, not with the pro-domain. These data indicate that the interaction of pro-MMP-1 with ␣ 2  1 confines this proteinase to points of cell contact with collagen and that the ternary complex of integrin, enzyme, and substrate function together to drive and regulate keratinocyte migration.Cells, either resting or activated, use a variety of surface receptors to sense the presence and location of specific molecules in the extracellular space. For example, integrin-ligand interactions tell cells which structural proteins they have encountered in the extracellular space, and in turn, these contacts activate signaling pathways involved in differentiation, proliferation, and gene expression, among other processes. During migration, cells need to proteolyze, to some extent, nearby extracellular matrix proteins, and hence, cell-matrix contacts can also instruct cells which proteinases are needed and where the enzyme should be targeted and released.An example of cell-matrix-mediated spatial regulation of proteolysis is seen with collagenase-1 (MMP-1), 1 a matrix metalloproteinase, in human cutaneous wounds. In response to injury, collagenase-1 is induced in basal epidermal cells (keratinocytes) as the cells move off of the basement membrane and contact native type I collagen in the underlying dermis (1), and this inductive response is specifically controlled by the collagen-binding integrin ␣ 2  1 (2). As we demonstrated in various experiments, the catalytic activity of collagenase-1 is required and sufficient for keratinocyte migration on complex matrices containing type I collagen. For example, keratinocytes plated on mutant, collagenase-resistant type I collagen do not migrate, even in the presence of fibronectin and vitronectin; yet they express MMP-1 at levels equivalent to those released by cells on wild-type collagen (2). Keratinocyte migration is also completely inhibited by anti-collagenase-1 antibodies, which block the catalytic a...