ABSTRACT
Chemokines and chemoattractant compounds upregulate the function of leukocyte integrins and promote their binding to counter ligands expressed on the vascular endothelium (Ley et al. 2007). Integrins are relatively unique in that their activity can be regulated independent of their expression level. Th ese interactions result in fi rm (non-rolling) adhesion and are involved in the subsequent transmigration across the endothelial layer and movement through the surrounding tissue. Integrins of the β2 family, including lymphocyte function associated antigen 1
(LFA-1, integrin αLβ2, CD11a/CD18) and macrophage-1 antigen (Mac-1, integrin αMβ2, CD11b/CD18), and the β1 family, including VLA-4 (integrin α4β1, CD49d/ CD29), have been shown to be crucial elements of the leukocyte recruitment pathway in skin and other tissues.
