The alpha 6 beta 1 integrin is a laminin receptor for developing retinal neurons.

Cultured embryionic day 6 (E6) retinal neurons respond to laminin by making use of integrin receptors. We have recently shown that the laminin binding integrin receptor alpha 6 beta 1 is expressed in the chick retina on both retinal ganglion cells and other retinal neurons. Antibodies raised against a fusion protein containing a large fragment of the extracellular portion of the chick alpha 6 integrin subunit dramatically inhibit the interactions between E6 retinal neurons and laminin. These data show that alpha 6 beta 1 functions as a laminin receptor in these cells. In previous work we have also shown that the levels of the mRNA for alpha 6 decreases dramatically in retinal ganglion cells between E6 and E12. Data presented in this paper show that the decrease in alpha 6 mRNA is not prevented by ablation of the optic tectum, indicating that contact with the target is not a major cause for this decrease.