ABSTRACT
This chapter outlines the role of the integrin receptors in mediating adhesion of epidermal basal cells to the basement membrane (BM) and to other cells in the basal cell layer. It focuses on integrains α2β1, α3β1, α6β4, and the BM ligand epiligrin. The chapter evaluates the components and mechanisms involved in cell-cell and cell-substrate adhesion in normal basal epidermis, and the role that adhesion may play in regulation of proliferation, differentiation, and wound repair in the basal cell layer. The basal cells of the epidermis are involved in at least four functions including normal homeostatic regeneration assembly of and adhesion to the BM, immune surveillance, and wound repair. In addition to normal proliferation and differentiation, one of the primary functions of the epidermis is wound repair. Hemidesmosomes are the primary cell-substrate adhesion structures identifiable in the epidermis at the ultrastructural level, but are more difficult to detect in cell culture.
