  Nascent adhesions are submicron transient structures promoting the early
adhesion of cells to the extracellular matrix. Nascent adhesions typically
consist of several tens of integrins, and serve as platforms for the
recruitment and activation of proteins to build mature focal adhesions. They
are also associated with early stage signalling and the mechanoresponse.
Despite their crucial role in sampling the local extracellular matrix, very
little is known about the mechanism of their formation. Consequently, there is
a strong scientific activity focused on elucidating the physical and
biochemical foundation of their development and function. Precisely the results
of this effort will be summarized in this article.
