Fig. 2.

Integrins promote the stabilization of microtubules at the basal surface of polarized epithelial cells. Integrins stabilize microtubules at the basal cell cortex through two distinct protein complexes. a Microtubules bind to EB1, which binds to CLASP, which in turn binds to LL5β. LL5β is known to be present in a complex with α3β1 integrins; however, protein interactions (dotted line) mediating this association have not been identified. b Microtubules can also be associated with integrins through ILK, which is a cytoskeleton adaptor and integrin β subunit cytoplasmic domain-binding protein. ILK plays a role in stabilizing microtubules at the basal cell surface through a microtubule–EB1–mDia–IQGAP–ILK–integrin linkage