Role of integrin in skin wound healing

Skin provides both a physical and a chemical barrier against the outside world, and keeps self-renewal through the proliferation and differentiation of epithermal stem cells. As one of the adhesion receptors, integrin mediates cell-ECM interactions and provides essential links between extracellular environment and intracellular signal pathways that play roles in many cell activities, such as proliferation, differentiation, and survival. In this article, the research progress of integrin in regulating adhesion, migration and signal transduction of epidermal stem cells, will be reviewed to expand new insights for completing the perfect skin wound healing.