title: Magic touch: how does cell-cell adhesion trigger actin assembly?
abstract: The formation of cadherin-mediated cell-cell junctions is accompanied by a profound remodeling of the actin cytoskeleton. The Arp2/3 complex and its activator cortactin drive the assembly of branching actin-filament arrays, and formin-1 promotes the nucleation of non-branching actin filaments. Recruitment of these actin nucleators to nascent adhesions, formation of the links between them and the cytoplasmic cadherin domain, and triggering of their actin-polymerizing functions are vital steps in the development of cell-cell junctions. In this article, I discuss recent results showing that proteins involved in the regulation of actin polymerization have crucial roles in the development and maintenance of the cadherin junctions.
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Cell Biology, The Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 76100, Israel. alexander.bershadsky@weimann.ac.il
authors.forename: Alexander
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bershadsky
mesh_terms: D000199:Actins / Q000378:metabolism*; D000818:Animals; D015820:Cadherins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D002448:Cell Adhesion / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D007365:Intercellular Junctions / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D000199:Actins; D015820:Cadherins