cell

adhesion
By
Peter Jon Arguez

 Cell

adhesion is a complex
mechanism involved in a variety of
processes including cell migration &
invasion, embryogenesis, wound
healing and tissue remodeling.
the binding of a cell to a surface,
extracellular matrix or another cell
using cell adhesion molecules

 proteins located on the cell surface

involved with the binding with other

cells or with the extracellular matrix

(ECM) in the process called cell
adhesion
cell adhesion molecules help cells
stick to each other and to their
surroundings.

Extracellular domains homophilic binding

Homophilic binding allows cells that express the
same type of cadherin to recognize and attach to
each other
Intracellular domains attach to actin
cytoskeleton through catenins so extracellular
connections can affect intracellular organization
Mutation or downregulation of cadherin is
associated with metastasis in cancer.
Mechanical agitation in Ca++-free solution is a
useful experimental technique to separate
tissues into individual cells

Cadherins attach
to the actin-based
cytoskeketon
through anchor
proteins including
catenins

Cadherins connect cells at a desmosome

Cadherins join adjacent epithelial cells to

one another

The next slide shows the events of

synaptogenesis
A target cell puts out outgrowths called
filopodia as one of them approaches a
potential presynaptic neurons axon, the
two cells become linked by cadherins.
In the presynaptic cell, catenins organize a
release zone for synaptic vesicles with
docking site proteins
In the postsynaptic cell, catenins form a
corral in which receptors collect

 Extracellular

domain contains
multiple subdomains that resemble
those of antibody molecules or
immunoglobulins
Structure of the subdomains is
stabilized by disulfide bonds rather
than Ca++, as in cadherins.

a group of Ca2-independent cell-cell

adhesion proteins in vertebrates
belong to the immunoglobin(Ig)
superfamily of CAMs
reflects their particular importance in
nervous tissue
Like cadherins, N-CAMs primarily mediate
homophilic interactions, binding together
cells that express similar N-CAM molecules

 The

adhesive properties of N-CAMs

are modulated by long chains of
sialic acid
In embryonic tissues such as brain,
polysialic acid constitutes as much
as 25 percent of the mass of NCAMs; in contrast, N-CAMs from
adult tissues contain only one-third
as much sialic acid

true specific immune system is

largely a vertebrate invention but
metazoans have had cell adhesion
molecules for a long time
antibodies and T-cell receptors evolved
from Ig-cell adhesion molecules
through
splice variations that lacked a membrane

anchor antibodies
Highly variable extracellular domains
antibodies and T-cell receptors

a family of cell adhesion molecules (or CAMs

All selectins are single-chain transmembrane
glycoproteins that share similar properties to Ctype lectins due to a related amino terminus and
calcium-dependent binding
bind to sugar moieties and so are considered to
be a type of lectin, cell adhesion proteins that
bind sugar polymers
Binding is Ca++-dependent
Selectins have a major role in inflammation and
hemostasis

 E-selectin

(in endothelial cells)

not expressed under baseline conditions, except in skin microvessels,

but is rapidly induced by inflammatory cytokines

L-selectin

(in leukocytes)

smallest of the vascular selectins

expressed on all granulocytes and monocytes and on most lymphocytes

P-selectin

(in platelets and

endothelial cells)
the largest selectin
stored in -granules of platelets and in WeibelPalade bodies of
endothelial cells, and is
translocated to the cell surface of activated endothelial cells and
platelets

 receptors

that mediate the

attachment between a cell and the
tissues that surround it, such as
other cells or the extracellular matrix

Each integrin consists of an alpha and a

beta subunit
Integrins connect epithelial cells to their
basal lamina or basement membrane
muscle cells and neurons to their sheaths,
etc.
Generally, integrins bind to matrix
proteins called fibronectins
Integrin binding capability is activated by
an inside-to-outside process mediated
through the cytoplasmic domain
Integrin binding to extracellular ligand can
mediate outside-to-inside signals

 The

basal lamina (lamina - layers),

also known as the basement
membrane, is a specialised form of
extracellular matrix.
Organised in three ways:
1. it can surround cells (for example muscle fibres

have a layer of basal lamina around them);

2. it lies underneath sheets of epithelial cells
3. it separates two sheets of cells, such as the
endothelial cells of blood vessels and epithelial
cells of another tissue. This type of arrangement
is found in the kidney glomerulus, where the
basal lamina acts as a permeability barrier or
sieve.

 The

exact composition of the basal

lamina varies between different types
of cell
Kidney
the basal lamina acts as a molecular filter

neuromuscular

junction

eparates the nerve cell from the muscle

cell at the synapse, and helps to

regenerate the synapse after injury, and
helps to localise acetylcholine receptors

The basal lamina provides support to the

overlying epithelium, limits contact
between epithelial cells and the other cell
types in the tissue and acts as a filter
allowing only water and small molecules to
pass through.
If the epithelial cells become transformed
(cancerous) and become 'malignant', they
are able to break through the basement
membrane and invade the tissues beneath.
This characteristic is one used in the
diagnosis of malignant epithelial tumors.