Adherens Junctions and Desmosomes Coordinate Mechanics and Signaling to Orchestrate Tissue Morphogenesis and Function: An Evolutionary Perspective
- Matthias Rübsam1,4,
- Joshua A. Broussard2,4,
- Sara A. Wickström3,
- Oxana Nekrasova2,
- Kathleen J. Green2 and
- Carien M. Niessen1
- 1University of Cologne, Department of Dermatology, Cologne Excellence Cluster on Stress Responses in Aging Associated Diseases (CECAD), Center for Molecular Medicine Cologne (CMMC) at the CECAD Research Center, 50931 Cologne, Germany
- 2Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Departments of Pathology and Dermatology, the Robert H Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University, Chicago, Illinois 60611
- 3Paul Gerson Unna Group, Skin Homeostasis and Ageing, Max Planck Institute for Biology of Ageing, 50931 Cologne, Germany
- Correspondence: kgreen{at}northwestern.edu; carien.niessen{at}uni-koeln.de
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↵4 These authors contributed equally to this work.
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.
