The basement membrane protein laminin-332 (laminin-5) mediates both stable cell adhesion and rapid cell migration and thus has the potential to either restrain or promote tumor cell metastasis. The major cellular receptors for laminin-332 are integrin ␣31, which mediates rapid tumor cell migration, and integrin ␣64, which often mediates stable cell attachment. Tetraspanin protein CD151 interacts directly with both ␣31 and ␣64 integrins and with other tetraspanins, thereby promoting ␣31 and ␣64 association with tetraspanin-enriched microdomains on the cell surface. To explore the possibility of selectively modulating tumor cell responses to laminin-332, we re-expressed a series of CD151 mutants in epidermoid carcinoma cells with near total, RNAi-mediated silencing of endogenous CD151. The interactions of CD151 with its integrin partners or its interactions with other tetraspanins were selectively disrupted by specific mutations in the CD151 large extracellular loop (EC2 domain) or in intracellular CD151 palmitoylation sites, respectively. CD151-integrin association and CD151-tetraspanin association were both important for ␣31 integrin-dependent initial adhesion and rapid migration on laminin-332. Remarkably, however, only CD151-integrin association was required for stable, ␣64 integrin-dependent cell attachment on laminin-332. In addition, we found that a QRD amino acid motif in the CD151 EC2 domain, which had been thought to be crucial for CD151-integrin interaction, is not essential for CD151-integrin association or for the ability of CD151 to promote several different integrin functions. These new data suggest potential strategies for selectively modulating migratory cell responses to laminin-332, while leaving stable cell attachment on laminin-332 intact.CD151 is a member of the tetraspanin family of proteins, which possess four transmembrane domains, intracellular amino and carboxyl termini, and one small and one large extracellular domain (named EC1 and EC2, respectively). Tetraspanins share a unique cysteine motif in their EC2 domains that sets them apart from other four-pass proteins. Genetic deletion of CD151 results in defects in the maintenance of kidney and skin epithelial integrity, wound healing, platelet aggregation, and thrombus growth and stability, as well as reduced pathological angiogenesis (1-7). Analysis of clinical samples has revealed potential roles for CD151 in progression and metastasis of colon, prostate, lung, hepatocellular, and breast carcinomas (8 -14).Although CD151 function in platelets has been linked to the platelet integrin ␣IIb3 (3), the basis of CD151 functions in carcinomas and in normal epithelia may be its association with its major integrin partners ␣31, ␣61, and ␣64. CD151 binds directly to these laminin-binding integrins in an interaction involving the CD151 EC2 domain and a membrane proximal region of the ␣ integrin subunit ectodomain. CD151 also associates with other tetraspanins, via a mechanism that depends on palmitoylation of membrane proximal intrace...