title: Intermediate filaments and the regulation of focal adhesion.
abstract: Focal adhesions are localized actin filament-anchoring signalling centres at the cell-extracellular matrix interface. The currently emerging view is that they fulfil an all-embracing coordinating function for the entire cytoskeleton. This review highlights the tight relationship between focal adhesions and the intermediate filament cytoskeleton. We summarize the accumulating evidence for direct binding of intermediate filaments to focal adhesion components and their mutual cross-talk through signalling molecules. Examples are presented to emphasize the high degree of complexity of these interactions equipping cells with a precisely controlled machinery for context-dependent adjustment of their biomechanical properties.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Molecular and Cellular Anatomy, RWTH Aachen University, Wendlingweg 2, 52074 Aachen, Germany. Electronic address: rleube@ukaachen.de.
authors.forename: Rudolf E
authors.initials: RE
authors.lastname: Leube
authors.affiliation: Institute of Molecular and Cellular Anatomy, RWTH Aachen University, Wendlingweg 2, 52074 Aachen, Germany.
authors.forename: Marcin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Moch
authors.affiliation: Institute of Molecular and Cellular Anatomy, RWTH Aachen University, Wendlingweg 2, 52074 Aachen, Germany.
authors.forename: Reinhard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Windoffer
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002448:Cell Adhesion; D003599:Cytoskeleton / Q000378:metabolism; D005109:Extracellular Matrix / Q000378:metabolism; D022001:Focal Adhesions / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D007382:Intermediate Filaments / Q000378:metabolism*