Integrins are heterodimeric proteins made up of alpha and beta subunits. The 16 a and 8 b subunits heterodimerize to produce more than 20 different receptors. Most integrin receptors bind ligands that are components of the extracellular matrix, including Fibronectin, collagen and vitronectin.Integrin family members are membrane receptors involved in cell adhesion and recognition in a variety of processes including embryogenesis, hemostasis, tissue repair, immune response and metastatic diffusion of tumor cells.
