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'Super glue'
1Cell and Molecular Biology Section, Division of Biomedical Sciences, Imperial College School of Medicine, Sir Alexander Fleming Building, London SW7 2AZ, UK. v.braga@ic.ac.uk
Abstract:
Cell--cell adhesion is a significant mechanical component of cell and tissue structure. However, cell contacts are not just static mechanical structures: they are integrated into the cytoskeletal and signalling processes of the cell. The formation and remodelling of cell contacts are basic to both tissue morphogenesis and, after damage, wound repair. Loss of adhesion accompanies tumour metastasis. The interplay between these processes was a major theme of a recent joint meeting of the British Societies of Cell Biology and Developmental Biology on 'Cell and Tissue Morphogenesis' in Brighton, UK (3--6 April 2001).