P18206

Vinculin is a cytoskeletal protein associated with cell-cell and cell-matrix junctions. Vinculin plays a crucial role in cellular adhesion and mechanotransduction, functioning as a key component of focal adhesions, which are specialized structures that connect the cytoskeleton to the extracellular matrix. These focal adhesions are essential for maintaining cell shape, enabling cell migration, and facilitating communication between the cell and its environment. Vinculin′s ability to interact with other cytoskeletal proteins, such as Talin and α-actinin, underscores vinculin′s importance in linking the actin cytoskeleton to integrins in the plasma membrane, thereby influencing cellular responses to mechanical stimuli.