Urokinase receptor and integrin partnership: coordination of signaling for cell adhesion, migration and growth.

Urokinase-type plasminogen activator receptor (uPAR) binds the urokinase-type plasminogen activator (uPA) and facilitates a proteolytic cascade focused at the cell surface. More recently, uPAR was recognized as a multifunctional protein that, through its interactions with integrins, initiates signaling events that alter cell adhesion, migration and proliferation. Results obtained recently have led to new insights into the structural aspects of uPAR interaction with integrins, provided a more detailed description of the signaling pathway they induce, and determined that uPAR signaling plays a role in cell migration and tumorigenicity.