Polymerizing Actin Fibers Position Integrins Primed to Probe for Adhesion Sites

As animal cells migrate across a surface, they send out processes known as filopodia that explore the substratum. Galbraith et al.  now find that the intracellular actin network directs very local protrusions that contain clusters of cell surface-adhesion molecules at their tips that are primed to interact with molecules of the extracellular matrix. These "sticky fingers" at the leading edge of motile cells appear to search for suitable sites of adhesion that can then be used to help move the rest of the cell.

Source:
Polymerizing Actin Fibers Position Integrins Primed to Probe for Adhesion Sites. Galbraith et al. Science 16 February 2007 : Vol. 315. no. 5814, pp. 992 - 995.