Affinage

FERMT2

Fermitin family homolog 2 · UniProt Q96AC1

Length
680 aa
Mass
77.9 kDa
Annotated
2026-06-09
32 papers in source corpus 13 papers cited in narrative 13 extracted findings
Cross-family judge vs UniProt: Affinage preferred faithfulness: 6/6 claims corpus-supported (100%)

Mechanistic narrative

Synthesis pass · prose summary of the discoveries below

FERMT2 (Kindlin-2/Mig-2) is a FERM-domain focal adhesion scaffold that couples integrin-based cell-matrix adhesion to the actin cytoskeleton and downstream signaling (PMID:12679033, PMID:17513299). It binds directly to the cytoplasmic tails of beta1 and beta3 integrins through a single site in its FERM domain, where it acts as a co-activator that synergizes with the talin head domain to drive integrin activation and strengthen cell-ECM adhesion while limiting motility (PMID:17513299, PMID:18458155). In parallel, FERMT2 recruits migfilin to cell-matrix adhesions, linking these sites to filamin and actin filaments and enabling cell shape modulation (PMID:12679033). Through this adhesion axis FERMT2 restrains RhoA-driven actomyosin contractility and stabilizes the cell cortex and plasma membrane tension (PMID:29337051), and it is required for integrin-FAK-dependent nuclear accumulation and transcriptional activity of YAP/TAZ independently of the canonical Hippo pathway (PMID:41792242). These adhesion and survival functions underlie roles in trophoblast invasion (PMID:30382829) and in cancer, where FERMT2 attenuates apoptosis via AKT/JNK and AKT/p38 signaling (PMID:25152024) and promotes anoikis resistance and metastasis through TGFbeta/SOX2/FN1 signaling (PMID:40024947). Independently, FERMT2 directly interacts with APP to modulate its surface trafficking, recycling, and processing, thereby controlling Abeta production and APP-dependent axonal growth, synaptic connectivity, and long-term potentiation; an AD-risk allele in its 3'UTR lowers FERMT2 expression via miR-4504, and proteolytic cleavage of FERMT2 by caspases and calpain disrupts its control of APP (PMID:27933404, PMID:33144711, PMID:30371777, PMID:40273529).

Mechanistic history

Synthesis pass · year-by-year structured walk · 12 steps
  1. 2003 High

    Established FERMT2 as a cell-matrix adhesion scaffold by showing it physically bridges migfilin to filamin and actin, defining its first molecular role in adhesion architecture and cell shape.

    Evidence Reciprocal Co-IP, pulldowns, and loss-of-function with immunofluorescence localization

    PMID:12679033

    Open questions at the time
    • Did not define how FERMT2 itself is recruited to adhesions
    • No structural detail of the FERMT2-migfilin interface
  2. 2007 High

    Identified the direct receptor link by mapping a single FERM-domain site that binds beta1/beta3 integrin tails, explaining how FERMT2 reaches adhesions and promotes integrin activation and adhesion strengthening.

    Evidence Co-IP, FERM-domain site-directed mutagenesis, integrin activation and adhesion/motility assays in CHO cells

    PMID:17513299

    Open questions at the time
    • Did not resolve cooperation with talin
    • Mechanism coupling integrin binding to reduced motility unclear
  3. 2008 High

    Defined FERMT2 as a co-activator of integrins, showing it acts synergistically with the talin head to activate beta3 integrins rather than activating them alone.

    Evidence Co-IP, tail-region mapping, PAC-1 integrin activation flow cytometry, siRNA knockdown, adhesion/migration assays

    PMID:18458155

    Open questions at the time
    • Stoichiometry/order of talin and FERMT2 binding not resolved
    • Generalization beyond alphaIIbbeta3/alphaVbeta3 untested
  4. 2014 Medium

    Connected FERMT2 to cell survival signaling, showing its F3 subdomain is necessary and sufficient to suppress cisplatin-induced apoptosis via AKT/JNK and AKT/p38 pathways.

    Evidence Overexpression, siRNA, F3 deletion mutants, pathway inhibitors, apoptosis flow cytometry in glioma cells

    PMID:25152024

    Open questions at the time
    • Direct molecular link between F3 and AKT activation not defined
    • Single cancer context
  5. 2018 High

    Showed FERMT2 controls cytoskeletal mechanics, with its loss elevating RhoA/actomyosin contractility and destabilizing the cell cortex and membrane tension, extending its role from adhesion to mechanoregulation.

    Evidence Conditional knockout in vivo and CRISPR human podocytes, RhoA activity assay, actomyosin inhibitor rescue, actin fractionation

    PMID:29337051

    Open questions at the time
    • How FERMT2 restrains RhoA mechanistically not defined
    • Link to specific focal adhesion components unresolved
  6. 2018 Medium

    Demonstrated a physiological invasion role, with FERMT2 required for integrin-mediated trophoblast attachment and Matrigel invasion.

    Evidence siRNA knockdown, adhesion and invasion assays, immunofluorescence in HTR8-SVneo trophoblasts

    PMID:30382829

    Open questions at the time
    • Which integrins mediate the effect not specified
    • Single cell line
  7. 2016 Medium

    Linked FERMT2 to Alzheimer-relevant biology, showing its underexpression raises Abeta by increasing mature surface APP and its recycling.

    Evidence Genome-wide high-content siRNA screen with APP metabolism, surface APP, and recycling assays

    PMID:27933404

    Open questions at the time
    • Did not establish direct FERMT2-APP physical interaction
    • Trafficking machinery involved unknown
  8. 2019 Medium

    Validated FERMT2's APP-modulating effect in human neurons while revealing cell-context dependence, with knockdown reducing Abeta and phospho-TAU but familial AD neurons showing an elevated Abeta42:40 ratio.

    Evidence shRNA and CRISPR-Cas9 in iPSC-derived neurons, Abeta ELISA, phospho-TAU immunoassay

    PMID:30371777

    Open questions at the time
    • Basis of context-dependent opposite effects unresolved
    • No direct mechanism for TAU phosphorylation change
  9. 2020 Medium

    Defined the direct FERMT2-APP interaction and its functional consequences for neuronal connectivity, and identified an AD-risk 3'UTR variant that lowers FERMT2 via miR-4504.

    Evidence Co-IP, high-content screening, axon growth and LTP assays, miRNA luciferase reporter

    PMID:33144711

    Open questions at the time
    • APP-binding region of FERMT2 not mapped
    • How adhesion functions intersect with APP regulation unclear
  10. 2025 Medium

    Identified FERMT2 as a caspase/calpain substrate whose cleavage dissociates F0/F1 domains and impairs its control of APP processing, providing a regulatory mechanism relevant to AD.

    Evidence In vitro caspase/calpain cleavage assays, domain dissociation analysis, APP processing assays

    PMID:40273529

    Open questions at the time
    • Cleavage not yet demonstrated in vivo in neurons
    • Functional fate of cleavage fragments unknown
  11. 2025 Medium

    Extended FERMT2 cancer signaling to anoikis resistance and metastasis, showing it stabilizes SOX2 by blocking its ubiquitination to drive FN1/fibronectin deposition within a TGFbeta-RI feedback loop.

    Evidence In vitro/in vivo assays, SOX2 ubiquitination assay, FN1 transcription assay, peritoneal metastasis mouse model in gastric cancer

    PMID:40024947

    Open questions at the time
    • Direct vs indirect control of SOX2 ubiquitination not resolved
    • Link between adhesion scaffold role and SOX2 stabilization unclear
  12. 2026 Medium

    Placed FERMT2 upstream of YAP/TAZ mechanotransduction, showing it drives YAP/TAZ nuclear activity through integrin-FAK signaling independent of the canonical Hippo pathway.

    Evidence CRISPR loss-of-function screens, KO/silencing, YAP/TAZ localization and target-gene assays, FAK phosphorylation, pharmacological FAK rescue, epistasis

    PMID:41792242

    Open questions at the time
    • How FAK activation feeds into YAP/TAZ nuclear import not detailed
    • Relative contribution of actin-dependent vs FAK-dependent routes unresolved

Open questions

Synthesis pass · forward-looking unresolved questions
  • How FERMT2's core adhesion/mechanotransduction scaffold function mechanistically integrates with its distinct APP-processing and SOX2/YAP transcriptional roles, and whether these reflect a single biochemical activity or separable functions, remains unresolved.
  • No unifying structural model linking integrin, APP, and transcriptional partners
  • Cell-context determinants of opposite phenotypes undefined

Mechanism profile

Synthesis pass · controlled-vocabulary classification · explore literature graph →
Molecular activity
GO:0060090 molecular adaptor activity 3 GO:0008092 cytoskeletal protein binding 2 GO:0098772 molecular function regulator activity 2
Localization
GO:0005856 cytoskeleton 2 GO:0005886 plasma membrane 2
Pathway
R-HSA-1474244 Extracellular matrix organization 3 R-HSA-1643685 Disease 3 R-HSA-162582 Signal Transduction 2
Complex memberships
integrin-talin-kindlin adhesion complex

Evidence

Reading pass · 13 per-paper findings extracted from the source corpus
Year Finding Method Journal Conf PMIDs
2003 FERMT2 (Mig-2) localizes to cell-matrix adhesions, interacts with migfilin through Mig-2's C-terminal domain, and with filamin through migfilin's N-terminal domain. Mig-2 recruits migfilin to cell-matrix adhesions, and migfilin's interaction with filamin mediates its association with actin filaments. Loss of Mig-2 impairs cell shape modulation. Co-immunoprecipitation, pulldown assays, dominant-negative/loss-of-function cell experiments, localization by immunofluorescence Cell High 12679033
2007 FERMT2 (Mig-2) binds directly to beta1 and beta3 integrin cytoplasmic domains via a single site within its FERM domain. This interaction recruits Mig-2 to focal adhesions, promotes integrin activation, and enhances cell-ECM adhesion. An integrin-binding-defective Mig-2 mutant fails to strengthen cell-matrix adhesion or reduce cell motility. Co-immunoprecipitation, site-directed mutagenesis of the FERM domain, integrin activation assays in CHO cells, cell adhesion and motility assays The Journal of biological chemistry High 17513299
2008 FERMT2 (Kindlin-2) binds to the C-terminal region of integrin beta3 cytoplasmic tail (TS752T region and NITY759 motif) and functions as a co-activator of beta3 integrins. Co-transfection with talin head domain produces synergistic enhancement of alphaIIbbeta3 activation. siRNA knockdown of endogenous kindlin-2 impairs talin-induced alphaIIbbeta3 activation and blunts alphaVbeta3-mediated adhesion and migration. Co-immunoprecipitation, integrin activation assays (flow cytometry for PAC-1 binding), siRNA knockdown, cell adhesion/migration assays The Journal of cell biology High 18458155
2016 FERMT2 underexpression increases Abeta peptide production by raising levels of mature APP at the cell surface and facilitating its recycling, as shown by genome-wide high-content siRNA screening and follow-up mechanistic assays. Genome-wide high-content siRNA screening, APP metabolism assays, cell surface APP quantification, APP recycling assays Acta neuropathologica Medium 27933404
2018 In podocytes, loss of FERMT2 results in altered cortical actin composition, cell cortex destabilization with plasma membrane blebbing, remodeling of focal adhesions, and elevated RhoA activation with increased actomyosin contractility. Inhibition of actomyosin tension reverses the membrane blebbing phenotype, linking FERMT2 to the regulation of plasma membrane tension via cell-matrix adhesion. Conditional FERMT2 knockout (in vivo and CRISPR/Cas9-modified human podocytes), RhoA activity assay, actomyosin inhibitor rescue experiments, actin fractionation, focal adhesion analysis Matrix biology : journal of the International Society for Matrix Biology High 29337051
2019 siRNA-mediated knockdown of FERMT2 in human iPSC-derived neurons reduces extracellular Abeta levels and reduces the proportion of phosphorylated TAU. CRISPR-Cas9 targeting of FERMT2 in familial AD human neurons validated reduced extracellular Abeta. In familial AD neurons, FERMT2 reduction elevated Abeta42:40 ratio with no reduction in phospho-TAU, revealing cell-context-dependent effects. shRNA knockdown, CRISPR-Cas9 knockout in iPSC-derived neurons, ELISA for extracellular Abeta, phospho-TAU immunoassay Human molecular genetics Medium 30371777
2018 FERMT2 is prominently localized to extravillous trophoblast cell periphery. siRNA knockdown of FERMT2 in HTR8-SVneo trophoblast cells significantly decreases cell-substrate attachment and invasion, demonstrating a role in integrin-mediated trophoblast invasion. siRNA knockdown, cell-substrate adhesion assays, Matrigel invasion assays, immunofluorescence localization BMC developmental biology Medium 30382829
2020 FERMT2 directly interacts with APP to modulate its metabolism. FERMT2 underexpression impairs axonal growth, synaptic connectivity, and long-term potentiation in an APP-dependent manner. The rs7143400-T AD-risk allele in the FERMT2 3'UTR reduces FERMT2 expression through miR-4504 binding. Co-immunoprecipitation for FERMT2-APP interaction, genome-wide high-content screening, neuronal loss-of-function experiments (axon growth assay, LTP assay), luciferase reporter assay for miRNA binding Molecular psychiatry Medium 33144711
2014 Mig-2 (FERMT2) attenuates cisplatin-induced apoptosis in glioma cells via AKT/JNK and AKT/p38 signaling pathways. The F3 subdomain of Mig-2 is necessary and sufficient for this anti-apoptotic effect; a mutant lacking F3 is inactive. Overexpression reduces cleaved caspases and p-JNK/p-p38 while increasing p-AKT. Plasmid overexpression, siRNA knockdown, domain deletion mutants (F3 subdomain), Western blotting, pharmacological inhibitors (SP600125, SB203580, LY294002), flow cytometry apoptosis assay Acta pharmacologica Sinica Medium 25152024
2025 KINDLIN2 (FERMT2) is a substrate of caspases and calpain I. These proteolytic cleavages dissociate the F0 and F1 domains of KINDLIN2 and decrease its ability to control APP processing, representing a potential mechanism regulating synaptic function relevant to AD pathophysiology. In vitro caspase/calpain cleavage assays, domain dissociation analysis, APP processing assays following KINDLIN2 cleavage Neurobiology of aging Medium 40273529
2025 FERMT2 promotes anoikis resistance in gastric cancer by suppressing ubiquitination of SOX2, thereby enhancing its stability and upregulating FN1 transcription and extracellular fibronectin matrix deposition. TGFbeta-RI forms a positive feedback loop with FERMT2 via TGFbeta-1/TGFbeta-RI signaling to drive this process. In vitro and in vivo functional assays, ubiquitination assay for SOX2, transcription assay for FN1, co-expression and knockdown experiments, peritoneal metastasis mouse model Gastric cancer Medium 40024947
2026 FERMT2 is required for YAP/TAZ nuclear accumulation and transcriptional activity in breast cancer cells. FERMT2 regulates YAP/TAZ independently of the canonical Hippo pathway through integrin-mediated activation of FAK; glucocorticoid-driven FAK activation restores YAP/TAZ signaling in FERMT2-depleted cells. FERMT2 also modulates actin-dependent regulation of YAP/TAZ. CRISPR/Cas9 loss-of-function screens (in vitro and in vivo), FERMT2 knockout and silencing, YAP/TAZ nuclear localization assays, YAP/TAZ target gene expression, FAK phosphorylation assays, pharmacological FAK activation rescue, epistasis analysis Cell death and differentiation Medium 41792242
2025 In gastric cancer-associated fibroblasts, FERMT2 maintains the myofibroblastic phenotype by acting as a competing endogenous RNA (ceRNA) for ZEB2, thereby promoting alpha-SMA transcription. FERMT2 drives GCAF secretion of TGF-beta1, which in turn induces FERMT2 in tumor cells. Tumor-derived FERMT2 upregulates COL6A1 and facilitates its transfer to GCAFs via exosomes, reinforcing a TGF-beta1/FERMT2/COL6A1 positive feedback loop. Bulk and single-cell transcriptomics, functional assays, proteomics, in vivo peritoneal metastasis model, ceRNA analysis, exosome isolation and transfer experiments International journal of biological sciences Low 41079932

Source papers

Stage 0 corpus · 32 papers · ranked by NIH iCite citations
Year Title Journal Citations PMID
2003 Migfilin and Mig-2 link focal adhesions to filamin and the actin cytoskeleton and function in cell shape modulation. Cell 312 12679033
2008 Kindlin-2 (Mig-2): a co-activator of beta3 integrins. The Journal of cell biology 285 18458155
2004 Phagocytosis of apoptotic cells is regulated by a UNC-73/TRIO-MIG-2/RhoG signaling module and armadillo repeats of CED-12/ELMO. Current biology : CB 168 15620647
2007 The MIG-2/integrin interaction strengthens cell-matrix adhesion and modulates cell motility. The Journal of biological chemistry 150 17513299
2007 VAB-8, UNC-73 and MIG-2 regulate axon polarity and cell migration functions of UNC-40 in C. elegans. Nature neuroscience 73 17237777
2016 Genome-wide, high-content siRNA screening identifies the Alzheimer's genetic risk factor FERMT2 as a major modulator of APP metabolism. Acta neuropathologica 49 27933404
2002 ced-10 Rac and mig-2 function redundantly and act with unc-73 trio to control the orientation of vulval cell divisions and migrations in Caenorhabditis elegans. Developmental biology 45 11784116
2020 Alzheimer's genetic risk factor FERMT2 (Kindlin-2) controls axonal growth and synaptic plasticity in an APP-dependent manner. Molecular psychiatry 43 33144711
2019 miR-338-5p inhibits cell proliferation, colony formation, migration and cisplatin resistance in esophageal squamous cancer cells by targeting FERMT2. Carcinogenesis 39 30576425
2019 Candidate-based screening via gene modulation in human neurons and astrocytes implicates FERMT2 in Aβ and TAU proteostasis. Human molecular genetics 34 30371777
2010 CACN-1/Cactin interacts genetically with MIG-2 GTPase signaling to control distal tip cell migration in C. elegans. Developmental biology 34 20188721
2004 Expression of the mitogen-inducible gene-2 (mig-2) is elevated in human uterine leiomyomas but not in leiomyosarcomas. Human pathology 34 14745725
2018 FERMT2 links cortical actin structures, plasma membrane tension and focal adhesion function to stabilize podocyte morphology. Matrix biology : journal of the International Society for Matrix Biology 32 29337051
2020 Genetic Association of FERMT2, HLA-DRB1, CD2AP, and PTK2B Polymorphisms With Alzheimer's Disease Risk in the Southern Chinese Population. Frontiers in aging neuroscience 23 32116649
2014 Mig-2 attenuates cisplatin-induced apoptosis of human glioma cells in vitro through AKT/JNK and AKT/p38 signaling pathways. Acta pharmacologica Sinica 21 25152024
2015 SYD-1C, UNC-40 (DCC) and SAX-3 (Robo) function interdependently to promote axon guidance by regulating the MIG-2 GTPase. PLoS genetics 19 25876065
2006 pat-4/ILK and unc-112/Mig-2 are required for gonad function in Caenorhabditis elegans. Experimental cell research 15 16476426
2011 Evaluating differentiation propensity of in-house derived human embryonic stem cell lines KIND-1 and KIND-2. In vitro cellular & developmental biology. Animal 11 21614653
2024 Overexpression of FERM Domain Containing Kindlin 2 (FERMT2) in Fibroblasts Correlates with EMT and Immunosuppression in Gastric Cancer. International journal of genomics 10 38352691
2023 FERMT2 upregulation in CAFs enhances EMT of OSCC and M2 macrophage polarization. Oral diseases 10 37357349
2013 Differentiation of human ES cell line KIND-2 to yield tripotent cardiovascular progenitors. In vitro cellular & developmental biology. Animal 9 23288411
2018 Fermitin family homolog-2 (FERMT2) is highly expressed in human placental villi and modulates trophoblast invasion. BMC developmental biology 8 30382829
2016 FERMT2 rs17125944 polymorphism with Alzheimer's disease risk: a replication and meta-analysis. Oncotarget 8 27244899
2022 Alzheimer's risk factor FERMT2 promotes the progression of colorectal carcinoma via Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway and contributes to the negative correlation between Alzheimer and cancer. PloS one 6 36480537
2023 Relationship Between FERMT2, CELF1, COPI, CHRNA2, and ABCA7 Genetic Polymorphisms and Alzheimer's Disease Risk in the Southern Chinese Population. Journal of Alzheimer's disease reports 5 38025799
2024 The role of FERMT2 in the tumor microenvironment and immunotherapy in pan-cancer using comprehensive single-cell and bulk sequencing. Heliyon 3 38726194
2025 FERMT2 drives anoikis resistance and peritoneal metastasis by enhancing extracellular matrix deposition in gastric cancer. Gastric cancer : official journal of the International Gastric Cancer Association and the Japanese Gastric Cancer Association 2 40024947
2025 Gastrodin Alleviates Tau Pathology by Targeting the Alzheimer's Risk Gene FERMT2, Reversing the Reduction in Brain Viscoelasticity. CNS neuroscience & therapeutics 1 40119586
2025 Calpain and caspase regulate Aβ peptide production via cleavage of KINDLIN2 encoded by the AD-associated gene FERMT2. Neurobiology of aging 1 40273529
2026 Functional genomic screens uncover FERMT2 as a critical regulator of YAP/TAZ-driven tumorigenicity. Cell death and differentiation 0 41792242
2025 TGF-βI/FERMT2/COL6A1 Reciprocal Loop Drives Tumor-Stroma Crosstalk and Promotes Peritoneal Metastasis in Gastric Cancer. International journal of biological sciences 0 41079932
2025 Impact of rAAV-shRNA treatment targeting mechanosensitive Ilk1 and Fermt2 in a mouse model of sepsis-induced muscle weakness. PloS one 0 41385533

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