Conformational activation of talin by RIAM triggers integrin-mediated cell adhesion

The membrane localization and activation of cytoskeletal protein talin are key steps to initiate integrin transmembrane receptors activation, which mediates many cellular adhesive responses such as cell migration, spreading, and proliferation. RIAM, a membrane anchor and small GTPase RAP1 effector, is known to bind to the C-terminal rod domain of talin (talin-R) and promote localizations of talin to membrane. Through systematic mapping analysis, we find that RIAM also binds to the N-terminal head of talin (talin-H), a crucial domain involved in binding and activating integrins. We show that the RIAM binding to talin-H sterically occludes the binding of a talin-R domain that otherwise masks the integrin binding site on talin-H. We further provide functional evidence that such RIAM-mediated steric unmasking of talin triggers integrin activation. Our findings thus uncover a novel role for RIAM in conformational regulation of talin during integrin activation and cell adhesion.