Syndecan-4 and integrins: combinatorial signaling in cell adhesion.

Research output: Contribution to journalJournal articlepeer-review

It is now becoming clear that additional transmembrane components can modify integrin-mediated adhesion. Syndecan-4 is a transmembrane heparan sulfate proteoglycan whose external glycosaminoglycan chains can bind extracellular matrix ligands and whose core protein cytoplasmic domain can signal during adhesion. Two papers in this issue of JCS demonstrate, through transfection studies, that syndecan-4 plays roles in the formation of focal adhesions and stress fibers. Overexpression of syndecan-4 increases focal adhesion formation, whereas a partially truncated core protein that lacks the binding site for protein kinase C(&agr;) and phosphatidylinositol 4, 5-bisphosphate acts as a dominant negative inhibitor of focal adhesion formation. Focal adhesion induction does not require interaction between heparan sulfate glycosaminoglycan and ligand but can occur when non-glycanated core protein is overexpressed; this suggests that oligomerization of syndecan-4 plays a major role in signaling from the extracellular matrix in adhesion.
Original languageEnglish
JournalJournal of Cell Science
Volume112 ( Pt 20)
Pages (from-to)3415-20
Number of pages5
ISSN0021-9533
Publication statusPublished - 1999

Bibliographical note

Keywords: Amino Acid Sequence; Animals; Cell Adhesion; Extracellular Matrix; Integrins; Isoenzymes; Membrane Glycoproteins; Molecular Sequence Data; Protein Kinase C; Protein Kinase C-alpha; Proteoglycans; Signal Transduction; Syndecan-4

ID: 5164387