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Review
. 2018 Nov 1;10(11):a029207.
doi: 10.1101/cshperspect.a029207.

Adherens Junctions and Desmosomes Coordinate Mechanics and Signaling to Orchestrate Tissue Morphogenesis and Function: An Evolutionary Perspective

Matthias Rübsam #  1 , Joshua A Broussard #  2 , Sara A Wickström  3 , Oxana Nekrasova  2 , Kathleen J Green  2 , Carien M Niessen  1
Affiliations
Review

Adherens Junctions and Desmosomes Coordinate Mechanics and Signaling to Orchestrate Tissue Morphogenesis and Function: An Evolutionary Perspective

Matthias Rübsam et al. Cold Spring Harb Perspect Biol. .

Abstract

Cadherin-based adherens junctions (AJs) and desmosomes are crucial to couple intercellular adhesion to the actin or intermediate filament cytoskeletons, respectively. As such, these intercellular junctions are essential to provide not only integrity to epithelia and other tissues but also the mechanical machinery necessary to execute complex morphogenetic and homeostatic intercellular rearrangements. Moreover, these spatially defined junctions serve as signaling hubs that integrate mechanical and chemical pathways to coordinate tissue architecture with behavior. This review takes an evolutionary perspective on how the emergence of these two essential intercellular junctions at key points during the evolution of multicellular animals afforded metazoans with new opportunities to integrate adhesion, cytoskeletal dynamics, and signaling. We discuss known literature on cross-talk between the two junctions and, using the skin epidermis as an example, provide a model for how these two junctions function in concert to orchestrate tissue organization and function.

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Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Apicobasolateral polarization of junctions and the cytoskeleton in epithelia. (A) In simple epithelia and (B) in the epidermis as an example of stratified epithelia. The spatial distribution of adherens junction (AJ) and desmosomal proteins across the different layers of the epidermis is also shown.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Schematic representation of core composition of (A) adherens junction and (B) desmosomes.
Figure 3.
Figure 3.
Cadherin-based junctions in basal to suprabasal transition. Proposed model how dynamic reorganization of adherens junctions (AJs) and desmosomes control tension and differentiation to promote the basal to spinous layer transition either when cells delaminate or up on asymmetric cell division resulting in the formation of a mechanical tissue boundary that allows the tissue to couple cell position and differentiation status.
Figure 4.
Figure 4.
Role of cadherin-based junctions and signaling in the formation of the tight junction (TJ)-containing granular layer. (A) Proposed model how asymmetric junction organization in SG2 promotes the formation of tension-high adherens junction, apically positioned tight junctions, and extended F-actin organization and adopt a shape resembling Kelvin’s tetracaidecahedron when SG3 cells become SG2 cells. Whereas in SG3 F-actin is attached through AJs at all cellular interfaces, in SG2 the apical F-actin network is uncoupled from the membrane due to absence of apical AJs. (B) Model integrating the role of adherens junctions (AJs), desmosomes and epidermal growth factor receptor  (EGFR) in the regulation of actomyosin-dependent intercellular and cortical tension and TJ stability.
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