On page 465, Hintermann et al. suggest a way in which keratinocytes may balance the competing forces of adhesion and locomotion. They show that an integrin primarily associated with adhesion (α6β4) can inhibit the signaling cascade downstream of an integrin associated with migration (α3β1). This trans-dominant inhibition between two integrins that recognize laminin-5 (Ln-5) may tell wound-healing keratinocytes when they need to stop migrating and settle down.
The early stages of wound healing are dominated by chemotactic signals that lure keratinocytes into closing large gaps. At this stage, α3β1 dominates and, according to Hintermann et al., engagement of α6β4 does not inhibit this chemotactic motility. But later on, as extracellular matrix and basement membrane are re-established, the fine tuning of cell position may rely more...
