Intercellular Adhesion Molecule

About ICAM / Intercellular Adhesion Molecule:

The discovery and understanding of Intercellular Adhesion Molecules can be traced back to the research of American physical chemist, Gerald Maurice Edelman. After basing his research in immunology for a large part of his career, he decided to instead shift his research focus to brain development. It was while carrying out this research that he discovers Cell Adhesion Molecules (CAMs), which the body uses to form tissue and bind neurons together when forming the brain tissue. It was from this discovery that Intercellular Adhesion Molecules were discovered.
The Intercellular Adhesion Molecule, or ICAMs for short, belong to the superfamily of immunoglobulins. They are crucially important in the body’s response to inflammation and other immune responses. They are also involved in intracellular signaling events.
There are five types of ICAMs in the ICAM family. These are:
●Intercellular Adhesion Molecule-1 (ICAM-1)
●Intercellular Adhesion Molecule-2 (ICAM-2)
●Intercellular Adhesion Molecule-3 (ICAM-3)
●Intercellular Adhesion Molecule-4 (ICAM-4)
●Intercellular Adhesion Molecule-5 (ICAM-5)
These ICAMs bind themselves to the CD11 and CD18 leukocyte integrins LFA-1 and Macrophage-1 when the body produces and immune response or during inflammation.

ICAM Function
These ICAMs bind themselves to the CD11 and CD18 leukocyte integrins LFA-1 and Macrophage-1 when the body produces and immune response or during inflammation.
Human plasma has been found to contain ICAM in soluble states. This is thought to be possible due to activation of proteolysis mechanisms on the cell surface.

Intercellular Adhesion Molecule Interactions
There are few known interactions between ICAM and other molecules. However, ICAM-1 has been shown to interact with fibrogen.