TGF-β activation by traction?

Transforming growth factor (TGF)-βs are powerful cytokines that are secreted as inactive (latent) precursors into the extracellular space. To exert their pleiotropic functions, latent TGF-βs require activation. This requisite restricts TGF-β signaling to tissues that express TGF-β-activating proteins such as the adhesion molecule αvβ6 integrin. Recent work has uncovered the molecular mechanism by which αvβ6 integrin activates latent TGF-β. Latent-TGF-β-binding protein 1 has been identified as being the major component of this process, and the integrin-interacting region has been mapped to a poorly conserved sequence stretch called the hinge region.