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. 2019 Dec 12;34(2):271–278. doi: 10.1038/s41433-019-0736-0

Fig. 2. Activation of TGF-β by TSP-1 and ανβ6.

Fig. 2

TGF-β1 is secreted as an inactive protein bound to LAP. a TSP-1 binds to the LAP protein via interactions between the Lys-Arg-Phe-Lys (KRFK)-peptide sequence found within the Type 1 repeats of TSP-1 and Leu-Ser-Lys-Leu (LSKL) domain of LAP. b The integrin, ανβ6, may bind to the Arg-Gly-Asp (RGD)-domain found in LAP leading to release of active TGF-β1, which is then able to bind to TGF-βRI and -βRII leading to phosphorylation of the SMAD proteins. Translocation of this complex leads to the transcription of genes associated with myofibroblast differentiation, including α-SMA and collagen type III [23, 43]. Adapted from [31, 44] and re printed with permission.