Cells connect with the ECM and other cells via different adhesion complexes, collectively called anchoring junctions. In epithelial cells, focal adhesions and hemidesmosomes connect actin filaments, and intermediate filaments to a specialized form of ECM called the basal lamina. Hemidesmosomes contain a dense plaque on the cytosolic side of the plasma membrane formed by the cytolinker protein plectin. Keratin-containing intermediate filaments are connected to this plaque via alpha six beta four integrins and other proteins such as BP230, and BP180. On the ECM face, the integrins bind laminin, a glycoprotein that is a major component of the basal lamina. The resulting hemidesmosomes can transmit ECM signals helping the cell respond to mechanical forces and change shape, polarity, and direction of migration.