Integrin-independent movement of immune cells

Cell motility requires the temporal and spatial coordination of the actin cytoskeleton with cell-matrix adhesions. Since their discovery more than 20 years ago, integrins have been at the center of cell-matrix adhesion research. Integrin-mediated adhesions link the actin network to the extracellular matrix and are commonly observed as cells migrate across rigid two-dimensional substrates. However, as more cell motility studies are being conducted in three-dimensional (3D) culture systems and in vivo, the role of integrins has become less clear. Recent work has shown that leukocyte migration in 3D contexts can be integrin-independent and that alternative mechanisms of cell adhesion are employed.