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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2021 Nov 1.
Published in final edited form as: Ageing Res Rev. 2020 Aug 23;63:101150. doi: 10.1016/j.arr.2020.101150

Figure 2: Schematic representation of the Focal Adhesion (FA) core complex.

Figure 2:

The anchorage of integrin subunits to the ECM promotes the recruitment of talin (Tal), paxillin (Pax), kindlin-2 (K), which facilitates the docking and catalytic activity of the integrin-linked kinase (ILK) and focal adhesion kinase (FAK). FAK ensures the recruitment and the binding of Src, and the enrichment of the FA with phosphoinositide (PIP2). Downstream signaling of FAK, integrin-linked kinase, and Src includes RhoGTPase that can trigger actin polymerization to generate fibers (F-actin) or MAP Kinase pathways. Enzymatic activity at the FA core also favors the recruitment of actin-binding proteins such as: vinculin that binds to Pax and reinforces the tight connection between the FA complex and the cytoskeleton, α-actinin that helps the stabilization of parallel F-actin, Arp2.3 (Arp) or N-WASP that favor branching of F-actin.