Integrins are heterodimeric proteins made up of alpha and beta subunits. At least 18 alpha and 8 beta subunits have been described in mammals. Integrin family members are membrane receptors involved in cell adhesion and recognition in a variety of processes including embryogenesis, hemostasis, tissue repair, immune response and metatastatic diffusion of tumour cells. ITAGV encodes integrin alpha chain V. Integrins are heterodimeric integral membrane proteins composed of an alpha chain and a beta chain. The I-domain containing integrin alpha V undergoes post-translational cleavage to yield disulfide-linked heavy and light chains, that combine with multiple integrin beta chains to form different integrins. Among the known associating beta chains (beta chains 1,3,5,6, and 8; ITGB1,  ITGB3, ITGB5, ITGB6, and ITGB8), each can interact with extracellular matrix ligands; the alpha V beta 3 integrin, perhaps the most studied of these, is referred to as the Vitronectin receptor (VNR). In addition to adhesion, many integrins are known to facilitate signal transduction.