CD18, also known as ITGB2 (integrin beta chain beta 2). Integrins are integral cell-surface proteins composed of an alpha chain and a beta chain. A given chain may combine with multiple partners resulting in different integrins. For example, beta 2 combines with the alpha L chain to form the integrin LFA-1, and combines with the alpha M chain to form the integrin Mac-1. Integrins are known to participate in cell adhesion as well as cell-surface mediated signalling. CD18 is expressed by most leucocytes. Defects in this gene are the cause of leukocyte adhesion deficiency type I (LAD1). Two transcript variants encoding the same protein have been identified for this gene.
