Inhibition of Integrin Binding: Exploring Its Impact on Epidermal Cell Attachment

I worked with HaCaT cells, human epidermal cells that are sticky and like to attach to their surroundings in the skin. They have a surface protein called integrin, which interacts directly with collagen to induce cell attachment. I was particularly interested in interrupting this connection between integrin and collagen. I achieved this by using an inhibitory peptide that bound to the active site of integrin. This would allow me to calculate the cell attachment of HaCaT cells while in the presence of collagen. If we were able to target this treatment to tumor cells, we could help to stop them from metastasizing.