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Li JXH, Tang VW, Boateng KA, et al. Cadherin puncta are interdigitated dynamic actin protrusions necessary for stable cadherin adhesion. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2021;118(24)doi: 10.1073/pnas.2023510118.
Li, J. X. H., Tang, V. W., Boateng, K. A., & Brieher, W. M. (2021). Cadherin puncta are interdigitated dynamic actin protrusions necessary for stable cadherin adhesion. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 118(24), . https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2023510118
Li, John Xiao He, et al. "Cadherin puncta are interdigitated dynamic actin protrusions necessary for stable cadherin adhesion." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America vol. 118,24 (2021). doi: https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2023510118
Li JXH, Tang VW, Boateng KA, Brieher WM. Cadherin puncta are interdigitated dynamic actin protrusions necessary for stable cadherin adhesion. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2021 Jun 15;118(24). doi: 10.1073/pnas.2023510118. PMID: 34099568; PMCID: PMC8214699.
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Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2021 Jun 15;118(24). doi: 10.1073/pnas.2023510118.

Cadherin puncta are interdigitated dynamic actin protrusions necessary for stable cadherin adhesion.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America

John Xiao He Li, Vivian W Tang, Kingsley A Boateng, William M Brieher

Affiliations

  1. Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801.
  2. Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801.
  3. Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801; [email protected].

PMID: 34099568 PMCID: PMC8214699 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2023510118

Abstract

Cadherins harness the actin cytoskeleton to build cohesive sheets of cells using paradoxically weak bonds, but the molecular mechanisms are poorly understood. In one popular model, actin organizes cadherins into large, micrometer-sized clusters known as puncta. Myosin is thought to pull on these puncta to generate strong adhesion. Here, however, we show that cadherin puncta are actually interdigitated actin microspikes generated by actin polymerization mediated by three factors (Arp2/3, EVL, and CRMP-1). The convoluted membranes in these regions give the impression of cadherin clustering by fluorescence microscopy, but the ratio of cadherin to membrane is constant. Nevertheless, these interlocking fingers of membrane are important for adhesion because perturbing their formation disrupts cell adhesion. In contrast, blocking myosin-dependent contractility does not disrupt either the interdigitated microspikes or lateral membrane adhesion. "Puncta" are zones of strong cell-cell adhesion not due to cadherin clustering but that occur because the interdigitated microspikes expand the surface area available for adhesive bond formation and increase the asperity of the cell surface to promote friction between cells.

Keywords: Arp2/3; E-cadherin; actin; adherens junction; filopodia

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no competing interest.

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