Andrea Becchetti
Universita di Milano-Bicocca

Annarosa Arcangeli
Department of Experimental Pathology and Oncology, University of Firenze Viale G.B. Morgani, 50, 50134 Firenze, Italy

About this Book

By mediating cell adhesion to the extracellular matrix, integrins regulate many developmental processes in the broadest sense (from cell choice between differentiation and proliferation, to tissue remodeling and organogenesis). Ion channels would appear instead to be better suited for rapid cellular signalatory tasks. By controlling membrane potential and ion fluxes, they typically regulate action potentials, muscle contraction and exocytosis. For many decades, these two branches of cell biology have proceeded almost independently. A growing body of evidence shows however that considerable cross-talk occurs between integrins and ion channels. They often associate to form macromolecular complexes (preferentially located in membrane lipid rafts) that regulate a variety of intracellular signaling cascades. In other cases, this interaction is indirect (e.g. mediated by G proteins). In addition, ion channel stimulation frequently controls integrin activation or expression. This book provides a general introduction to the problems and methods of this flourishing field. In addition it provides a series of essays on cellular models in which these interactions have been studied in depth, such as smooth muscle, cardiac myocytes, blood cells and neoplastic cells. The study of channel-integrin interplay has important mechanistic implications for understanding how the extracellular matrix regulates as disparate processes as muscle excitability, synaptic plasticity and lymphocyte activation, just to mention a few. The derangement of these processes has clear implications for pathogenetic processes, in particular for tumour invasivity, cardiovascular pathology and neurology.

Table of Contents

1. Integrin Structure and Functional Relation with Ion Channels
Annarosa Arcangeli and Andrea Becchetti

2. Introduction to Ion Channels
Chiara Di Resta and Andrea Becchetti

3. Biochemical Methods to Study the Interactions Between Integrins and Ion Channels
Olivia Crociani

4. Optical Methods in the Study of Protein‑Protein Interactions
Alessio Masi, Riccardo Cicchi, Adolfo Carloni, Francesco Saverio Pavone, and Annarosa Arcangeli

5. Integrins and Signal Transduction
Sara Cabodi, Paola Di Stefano, Maria del Pilar Camacho Leal, Agata Tinnirello, Brigitte Bisaro, Virginia Morello, Laura Damiano,
Simona Aramu, Daniele Repetto, Giusy Tornillo, and Paola Defilippi

6. Physical and Functional Interaction between Integrins and hERG1 Channels in Cancer Cells
Serena Pillozzi and Annarosa Arcangeli

7. Coordinated Regulation of Vascular Ca2+ and K+ Channels by Integrin Signaling
Peichun Gui, Jun‑Tzu Chao, Xin Wu, Yan Yang, George E. Davis, and Michael J. Davis

8. Adhesion‑Dependent Modulation of Macrophage K+ Channels
Margaret Colden‑Stanfield

9. Integrin Receptors and Ligand‑Gated Channels
Raffaella Morini and Andrea Becchetti

10. Integrins and Ion Channels in Cell Migration: Implications for Neuronal Development, Wound Healing and Metastatic Spread
Andrea Becchetti and Annarosa Arcangeli