Desmosomal Proteins: Mediators of Intercellular Coupling and Intermediate Filament Anchorage

Abstract

The establishment and maintenance of intra- and intercellular architecture involves stable cell contact structures (“junctions”) that appear as distinct plasma membrane domains characterized by close apposition of the surface membranes of neighboring cells and a dense layer (“plaque”) on either cytoplasmic side. These plaques in turn can serve as anchoring plates for the association of specific kinds of cytoskeletal filaments. Two major kinds of such plaque-bearing intercellular junctions (“adhering junctions”) can be distinguished by morphological (Farquhar and Palade 1963) and biochemical criteria (Franke et al. 1982; Geiger et al. 1983, 1985; Cowin et al. 1985b, 1986):