Cadherins are cell-cell adhesion molecules essential for tissue integrity and development. They form two types of junction: at adherens junctions, classical cadherins, such as N-cadherin, are linked to actin through β- and α-catenin; at desmosomes, desmosomal cadherins are instead linked to intermediate filaments, such as vimentin. On p. 3883, Karen Knudsen and co-workers reveal that things are not so simple. They have developed a novel assay for cadherin function in which a steroid activates an N-cadherin mutant fused to a modified oestrogen receptor. Addition of 4-hydroxytamoxifen (4OHT) to fibroblasts expressing the mutant causes them to form tightly compacted aggregates through cadherin-mediated cell-cell adhesion. The authors observe that this is associated with increased interaction of N-cadherin with the cytoskeleton. Surprisingly, however, they find that this does not involve actin but vimentin. Vimentin becomes more organized at the cell periphery and can be coimmunoprecipitated with N-cadherin. More importantly, Knudsen and co-workers can block compaction of the cells by knocking down vimentin by RNAi. Their findings indicate that N-cadherin-mediated adhesion can involve intermediate filaments not just the actin cytoskeleton and thus blur the lines between the well-defined junctional complexes.
Cadherins at a crossroads...
Cadherins at a crossroads.... J Cell Sci 1 September 2005; 118 (17): e1703. doi:
Download citation file:
Advertisement
Cited by
JCS Journal Meeting 2023: Imaging Cell Dynamics

Our 2023 Journal Meeting on ‘Imaging Cell Dynamics’ will be held from 14-17 May 2023 in Lisbon, Portugal. We have a limited number of spaces left so sign up now! Registration deadline: 31 March.
Call for papers: Cell and Tissue Polarity
-PolarityCFP.png?versionId=4491)
We are welcoming submissions for our next special issue, which will focus on ‘Cell and tissue polarity’ and will be guest edited by David Bryant. Submission deadline: 15 July.
Webinar: Increasing the visibility and impact of your research
-HUBSwebinar.jpg?versionId=4491)
Would you like to increase the visibility and impact of your research and raise your profile internationally? If so, register for the very practical webinar we are running in association with HUBS on 23 February 2023.
Cell scientist to watch: Gautam Dey

We interviewed Gautam Dey, who became a group leader at EMBL in Heidelberg, Germany, in 2021. His lab investigates the fundamental organisational principles and evolutionary dynamics of the nuclear compartment across eukaryotes.
Mechanisms of eukaryotic transcription termination at a glance

Check out our latest Cell Science at a Glance article and accompanying poster for an overview of the current understanding about the mechanisms of transcription termination by the three eukaryotic RNAPs.