RT Journal Article SR Electronic T1 Kindlin2 enables EphB/ephrinB bi-directional signaling to support vascular development JF Life Science Alliance JO Life Sci. Alliance FD Life Science Alliance LLC SP e202201800 DO 10.26508/lsa.202201800 VO 6 IS 3 A1 Li, Wenqing A1 Wen, Lai A1 Rathod, Bhavisha A1 Gingras, Anne-Claude A1 Ley, Klaus A1 Lee, Ho-Sup YR 2023 UL https://www.life-science-alliance.org/content/6/3/e202201800.abstract AB Direct contact between cells expressing either ephrin ligands or Eph receptor tyrosine kinase produces diverse developmental responses. Transmembrane ephrinB ligands play active roles in transducing bi-directional signals downstream of EphB/ephrinB interaction. However, it has not been well understood how ephrinB relays transcellular signals to neighboring cells and what intracellular effectors are involved. Here, we report that kindlin2 can mediate bi-directional ephrinB signaling through binding to a highly conserved NIYY motif in the ephrinB2 cytoplasmic tail. We show this interaction is important for EphB/ephrinB-mediated integrin activation in mammalian cells and for blood vessel morphogenesis during zebrafish development. A mixed two-cell population study revealed that kindlin2 (in ephrinB2-expressing cells) modulates transcellular EphB4 activation by promoting ephrinB2 clustering. This mechanism is also operative for EphB2/ephrinB1, suggesting that kindlin2-mediated regulation is conserved for EphB/ephrinB signaling pathways. Together, these findings show that kindlin2 enables EphB4/ephrinB2 bi-directional signal transmission.