We examined the possibility that the ␣ 6A and ␣ 6B cytoplasmic domain variants of the ␣ 6  1 integrin differentially activate p42 and p44 mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinases. P388D1 macrophages that express equivalent surface levels of either the ␣ 6A  1 or ␣ 6B  1 integrin were used to examine this issue. Adhesion to laminin-1 mediated by the ␣ 6A  1 integrin triggered activation of a substantial fraction of total p42 and p44 MAP kinases as assessed using a mobility shift assay, immunoblot analysis with a phosphospecific MAP kinase antibody, and an immune complex kinase assay. In contrast, ligation of the ␣ 6B  1 integrin did not trigger significant MAP kinase activation. These data were confirmed by antibody clustering of the ␣ 6  1 integrins. Both the ␣ 6A  1 and ␣ 6B  1 integrins were capable of activating the p70 ribosomal S6 kinase and this activation, unlike MAP kinase activation, is dependent on phosphoinositide 3-OH kinase. Activation of MAP kinase by ␣ 6  1 requires both Ras and protein kinase C activity. A functional correlate for differential activation of MAP kinase was provided by the findings that the ␣ 6A  1 transfectants migrated significantly better on laminin than the ␣ 6B  1 transfectants and this migration was dependent on MAP kinase activity based on the use of the MAP kinase kinase (MEK1) inhibitor PD98059. Our findings demonstrate that the ␣ 6  1 integrin can activate MAP kinase, that this activation is regulated by the cytoplasmic domain of the ␣ 6 subunit, and that it relates to ␣ 6  1 -mediated migration.The mechanisms by which integrins modulate the activity of the ERK1 1 and ERK2 members of the MAP kinase family are of interest because these kinases regulate cell growth (1-4) and have been implicated in other important functions such as cell migration (5). Initial studies demonstrated that MAP kinase could be activated by integrin-mediated attachment to the extracellular matrix (6 -8). More recently, the possible involvement of other signaling molecules including Ras and focal adhesion kinase (FAK) in MAP kinase activation by integrins has been explored, an area that remains controversial (9 -13). These studies, however, did not address the possibility that specificity exists among integrins for their ability to modulate MAP kinase activity. Recently, however, this possibility was substantiated by the finding that only a subset of integrins (␣ 1  1 , ␣ 5  1 , and ␣ v  3 ) can activate MAP kinase (14). The ability of these integrins to activate MAP kinase was found to be mediated by the recruitment and phosphorylation of Shc and to be specified by the membrane-proximal portion of the extracellular domain of the integrin ␣ subunit, its transmembrane segment, or both. Other integrins (␣ 2  1 , ␣ 3  1 , and ␣ 6  1 ) were unable to induce MAP kinase activation in these assays (14).An issue that has not been resolved with respect to integrinmediated activation of MAP kinase is the possible role of the cytoplasmic domain of the integrin ␣ subunit in regulating this ac...