Integrin αβ as a negative regulator of the laminin receptors αβ and αβ.

Integrin αβ is a widely expressed collagen I receptor which also mediates laminin-111 binding in some cell types, but the functional relevance of collagen versus laminin binding for different cell types is poorly understood. Here we use AFM-based singe-cell force spectroscopy (SCFS) to compare αβ-mediated adhesion strength to collagen and laminin in different cell types. Chinese Hamster Ovary (CHO) cells stably expressing integrin αβ (CHO-A2) displayed enhanced adhesion to collagen, but weak adhesion to laminin, consistent with a role of αβ as a receptor only for collagen in these cells.

Tspan8 is expressed in breast cancer and regulates E-cadherin/catenin signalling and metastasis accompanied by increased circulating extracellular vesicles.

Tspan8 exhibits a functional role in many cancer types including pancreatic, colorectal, oesophagus carcinoma, and melanoma. We present a first study on the expression and function of Tspan8 in breast cancer. Tspan8 protein was present in the majority of human primary breast cancer lesions and metastases in the brain, bone, lung, and liver.

Cadherin-11 promotes neural crest cell spreading by reducing intracellular tension-Mapping adhesion and mechanics in neural crest explants by atomic force microscopy.

During development cranial neural crest cells (NCCs) display a striking transition from collective to single-cell migration, but the mechanisms enabling individual NCCs to separate from the neural crest tissue are still incompletely understood. In this study we have employed atomic force microscopy (AFM) to investigate potential adhesive and mechanical changes associated with the dissociation of individual cells from cohesive Xenopus NCC explants at early stages of migration. AFM-based single-cell force spectroscopy (SCFS) revealed a uniform distribution of cell-cell adhesion forces within NCC explants, including semi-detached leader cells in the process of delaminating from the explant edge.