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Integrins as Receptors for Bacterial and Viral Pathogens

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Integrins in Health and Disease

Part of the book series: Biology of Extracellular Matrix ((BEM,volume 13))

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Abstract

Integrins are important cell surface receptors named cell adhesion molecules that mediate cell–cell, cell–matrix, and cell–pathogen interactions. Integrins exist as obligate heterodimers of integral transmembrane α and β subunits linking the extracellular matrix to the intracellular cytoskeleton. In mammals, they are composed of eighteen α subunits and eight β subunits which form a range of distinct heterodimers with varying activities. Integrins transduce signals from the environment directly or via extracellular matrix molecules into the cell, to adjust cell processes and cell behavior. In addition, multiple microbial pathogens including bacteria, parasites, and viruses use integrin receptors to adhere to, enter, or subvert host cells to create a specialized niche which allows colonization, multiplication, and spreading of the microbe. This review highlights the fundamental role of integrins in bacterial and viral pathogenesis. We illustrate their role in the virulence process in more detail using well-studied examples of the molecular interplay of microbial factors with integrins.

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Acknowledgments

The authors apologize to those whose work could not be cited in this review due to space limitations. S.S. is supported by a grant from the German Center for Infection Research (DZIF), and support by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG - CRC1450), M. M. from a grant of the IZKF De2/006/20, and P.D. is supported by grants of the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) (CRC1450 Project C07), the IZKF De2/006/20, and the German Center for Infection Research (DZIF).

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Correspondence to Petra Dersch .

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© 2023 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG

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Mrakovcic, M., Sharma, S., Dersch, P. (2023). Integrins as Receptors for Bacterial and Viral Pathogens. In: Gullberg, D., Eble, J.A. (eds) Integrins in Health and Disease. Biology of Extracellular Matrix, vol 13. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-23781-2_13

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