Description
Product Characteristics: CD49d / integrin alpha 4, unlike other alpha integrins, neither contains an I-domain, nor undergoes disulfide-linked cleavage. It associates with beta 7 chain to form alpha 4 / beta 7 integrin, and with beta 1 chain (CD29) to form VLA-4 integrin. These complexes are important for lymphocyte migration from circulation into tissue (binding VCAM-1) and homing of T cell subsets to Peyer´s patches (binding MadCAM-1), but VLA-4 is also target for invasive bacteria which contain invasin. CD49d is essential for differentiation and migration of hematopoietic stem cells by their adhesion to bone marrow stromal cells, and provides a costimulatory signal to TCR-CD3 complex by inducing phosphorylation of some focal adhesion proteins.
Target Information: The product of this gene belongs to the integrin alpha chain family of proteins. Integrins are heterodimeric integral membrane proteins composed of an alpha chain and a beta chain. This gene encodes an alpha 4 chain. Unlike other integrin alpha chains, alpha 4 neither contains an I-domain, nor undergoes disulfide-linked cleavage. Alpha 4 chain associates with either beta 1 chain or beta 7 chain. [provided by RefSeq, Jul 2008]