The Adherens Junction: A Mosaic of Cadherin and Nectin Clusters Bundled by Actin Filaments

Cadherin and nectin are distinct transmembrane proteins of adherens junctions. Their ectodomains mediate adhesion while their cytosolic regions couple the adhesive contact to the cytoskeleton. Both these proteins are essential for adherens junction formation and maintenance. However, some basic aspe...

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Main Authors: Indra, Indrajyoti, Hong, Soonjin, Troyanovsky, Regina, Kormos, Bernadett, Troyanovsky, Sergey
Format: Online
Language:English
Published: 2013
Online Access:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3778168/
id pubmed-3778168
recordtype oai_dc
spelling pubmed-37781682014-05-01 The Adherens Junction: A Mosaic of Cadherin and Nectin Clusters Bundled by Actin Filaments Indra, Indrajyoti Hong, Soonjin Troyanovsky, Regina Kormos, Bernadett Troyanovsky, Sergey Article Cadherin and nectin are distinct transmembrane proteins of adherens junctions. Their ectodomains mediate adhesion while their cytosolic regions couple the adhesive contact to the cytoskeleton. Both these proteins are essential for adherens junction formation and maintenance. However, some basic aspects of these proteins, such as their organization in adherence junctions, have remained open. Therefore, using super-resolution microscopy and live-imaging, we focused on the subjunctional distribution of these proteins. We showed that cadherin and nectin in the junctions of A431 cells and human keratinocytes are located in separate clusters. The size of each cluster is independent of that of the adjacent clusters and can significantly fluctuate over time. Several nectin and cadherin clusters that constitute an individual adherens junction are united by the same actin filament bundle. Surprisingly, interactions between each cluster and F-actin are not uniform since neither vinculin nor LIM domain actin-binding proteins match the boundaries of cadherin or nectin clusters. Thus, the adherens junction is not a uniform structure but a mosaic of different adhesive units with very diverse modes of interaction with the cytoskeleton. We propose that such a mosaic architecture of adherence junctions is important for the fast regulation of their dynamics. 2013-05-02 2013-11 /pmc/articles/PMC3778168/ /pubmed/23639974 http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/jid.2013.200 Text en http://www.nature.com/authors/editorial_policies/license.html#terms Users may view, print, copy, and download text and data-mine the content in such documents, for the purposes of academic research, subject always to the full Conditions of use:http://www.nature.com/authors/editorial_policies/license.html#terms
repository_type Open Access Journal
institution_category Foreign Institution
institution US National Center for Biotechnology Information
building NCBI PubMed
collection Online Access
language English
format Online
author Indra, Indrajyoti
Hong, Soonjin
Troyanovsky, Regina
Kormos, Bernadett
Troyanovsky, Sergey
spellingShingle Indra, Indrajyoti
Hong, Soonjin
Troyanovsky, Regina
Kormos, Bernadett
Troyanovsky, Sergey
The Adherens Junction: A Mosaic of Cadherin and Nectin Clusters Bundled by Actin Filaments
author_facet Indra, Indrajyoti
Hong, Soonjin
Troyanovsky, Regina
Kormos, Bernadett
Troyanovsky, Sergey
author_sort Indra, Indrajyoti
title The Adherens Junction: A Mosaic of Cadherin and Nectin Clusters Bundled by Actin Filaments
title_short The Adherens Junction: A Mosaic of Cadherin and Nectin Clusters Bundled by Actin Filaments
title_full The Adherens Junction: A Mosaic of Cadherin and Nectin Clusters Bundled by Actin Filaments
title_fullStr The Adherens Junction: A Mosaic of Cadherin and Nectin Clusters Bundled by Actin Filaments
title_full_unstemmed The Adherens Junction: A Mosaic of Cadherin and Nectin Clusters Bundled by Actin Filaments
title_sort adherens junction: a mosaic of cadherin and nectin clusters bundled by actin filaments
description Cadherin and nectin are distinct transmembrane proteins of adherens junctions. Their ectodomains mediate adhesion while their cytosolic regions couple the adhesive contact to the cytoskeleton. Both these proteins are essential for adherens junction formation and maintenance. However, some basic aspects of these proteins, such as their organization in adherence junctions, have remained open. Therefore, using super-resolution microscopy and live-imaging, we focused on the subjunctional distribution of these proteins. We showed that cadherin and nectin in the junctions of A431 cells and human keratinocytes are located in separate clusters. The size of each cluster is independent of that of the adjacent clusters and can significantly fluctuate over time. Several nectin and cadherin clusters that constitute an individual adherens junction are united by the same actin filament bundle. Surprisingly, interactions between each cluster and F-actin are not uniform since neither vinculin nor LIM domain actin-binding proteins match the boundaries of cadherin or nectin clusters. Thus, the adherens junction is not a uniform structure but a mosaic of different adhesive units with very diverse modes of interaction with the cytoskeleton. We propose that such a mosaic architecture of adherence junctions is important for the fast regulation of their dynamics.
publishDate 2013
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3778168/
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