Cell Adhesion Mechanisms in Epithelial Development
Summary
Epithelial development depends on the coordinated establishment and modulation of intercellular junctions and matrix attachments that confer both mechanical integrity and signalling competence. At the apical surface, tight junctions regulate paracellular permeability, while adherens junctions—mediated principally by cadherin–catenin complexes—provide lateral cohesion and link to the actin cytoskeleton. Desmosomes further reinforce tissue resilience by anchoring intermediate filaments through specialised cadherin family members. At the basal aspect, integrin receptors engage extracellular matrix ligands to direct polarity, migration and survival pathways. Dynamic regulation of adhesion molecule expression, endocytic turnover and post-translational modification tunes junction assembly and remodelling during morphogenetic events such as lumen formation, epithelial folding and wound closure. Mechanical forces transmitted across junctions feed back into transcriptional networks via mechanotransduction, thereby coupling tissue architecture to gene expression programmes. Aberrant adhesion underlies a range of developmental disorders—from clefting anomalies to barrier defects—and contributes to malignant progression when junctional integrity is lost. Understanding the interplay between adhesion complexes, cytoskeletal dynamics and signalling cascades holds promise for novel strategies in regenerative medicine, barrier repair and prevention of metastasis.
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Cell Adhesion Mechanisms in Epithelial Development publication trend
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Technical terms
Cadherin: Calcium-dependent transmembrane adhesion protein mediating homophilic cell–cell binding.
Catenin: Cytoplasmic proteins (α-, β-) that link cadherins to the actin cytoskeleton.
Adherens junction: Cell–cell contact site composed of cadherin–catenin complexes that regulate tissue cohesion and signalling.
Desmosome: Adhesive junction enriched in desmosomal cadherins that connect intermediate filaments to confer tensile strength.
Mechanotransduction: Process by which mechanical forces at cell junctions are converted into intracellular biochemical signals.
References
- To Stick or Not to Stick: Adhesions in Orofacial Clefts. Biology (2022).
- Cadherins in early neural development. Cellular and Molecular Life Sciences (2021).
- Single Amino Acid Substitutions in Proteins of the armadillo Gene Family Abolish Their Binding to α-Catenin (∗). Journal of Biological Chemistry (1996).
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