Sticky business: orchestrating cellular signals at adherens junctions

Cell. 2003 Feb 21;112(4):535-48. doi: 10.1016/s0092-8674(03)00108-9.

Abstract

Cohesive sheets of epithelial cells are a fundamental feature of multicellular organisms and are largely a product of the varied functions of adherens junctions. These junctions and their cytoskeletal associations contribute heavily to the distinct shapes, polarity, spatially oriented mitotic spindle planes, and cellular movements of developing tissues. Deciphering the underlying mechanisms that govern these conserved cellular rearrangements is a prerequisite to understanding vertebrate morphogenesis.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.
  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.
  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Actins / metabolism
  • Adherens Junctions*
  • Animals
  • Cadherins / metabolism
  • Cell Division
  • Cytoskeleton / metabolism
  • Down-Regulation
  • Epithelial Cells
  • Epithelium / physiology
  • Fungal Proteins / metabolism
  • GTP Phosphohydrolases / metabolism
  • Humans
  • Microscopy, Fluorescence
  • Models, Biological
  • Mutation
  • Phosphorylation
  • Signal Transduction*
  • rhoA GTP-Binding Protein / metabolism

Substances

  • Actins
  • Cadherins
  • Fungal Proteins
  • GTP Phosphohydrolases
  • rhoA GTP-Binding Protein