Figure 1.

Functions of, and the association between, β1 and β3 integrins in cancer cells. β1 integrin (blue) may facilitate cyclin D1 and E-cadherin in promoting proliferation and reducing the rate of metastasis in cancer cells, respectively. Concurrently, β1 integrin inhibits the expression of β3 integrin (green) in cancer cells, probably by the regulation of c-Myc. However, reductions in levels of β1 integrin induce the compensatory expression of β3 integrin, which promotes EMT and IMD resistance in cancer cells, resulting in metastasis. EMT, epithelial-mesenchymal transition; IMD, integrin-mediated death; E-cadherin, epithelial cadherin; c-Myc, v-myc avian myelocytomatosis viral oncogene homolog.