A schematic model of the migratory phenotype of <i>Col17a1^−/−</i> keratinocytes.

<p>In wild type cells the endodomain of ColXVII binds to the intracellular domain of the β4 integrin subunit. In <i>Col17a1⁻</i>^{<b><i>/</i></b><i>−</i>} keratinocytes, the genetic ablation of ColXVII leads to increased expression and phosphorylation (S1356) of the β4 subunit and to phosphorylation of FAK (Y397), which, in turn, enhance PI3K activity and induce undirected cell migration via Rac1 activation.