Changing ligand specificities of alphavbeta1 and alphavbeta3 integrins by swapping a short diverse sequence of the beta subunit.

Integrins mediate signal transduction through interaction with multiple cellular or extracellular matrix ligands. Integrin alphavbeta3 recognizes fibrinogen, von Willebrand factor, and vitronectin, while alphavbeta1 does not. We studied the mechanisms for defining ligand specificity of these integrins by swapping the highly diverse sequences in the I domain-like structure of the beta1 and beta3 subunits. When the sequence CTSEQNC (residues 187-193) of beta1 is replaced with the corresponding CYDMKTTC sequence of beta3, the ligand specificity of alphavbeta1 is altered. The mutant (alphavbeta1-3-1), like alphavbeta3, recognizes fibrinogen, von Willebrand factor, and vitronectin (a gain-of-function effect). The alphavbeta1-3-1 mutant is recruited to focal contacts on fibrinogen and vitronectin, suggesting that the mutant transduces intracellular signals on adhesion. The reciprocal beta3-1-3 mutation blocks binding of alphavbeta3 to these multiple ligands and to LM609, a function-blocking anti-alphavbeta3 antibody. These results suggest that the highly divergent sequence is a key determinant of integrin ligand specificity. Also, the data support a recent hypothetical model of the I domain of beta, in which the sequence is located in the ligand binding site.