Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 30, 2026

Bead Aggregation Assays for the Characterization of Putative Cell Adhesion Molecules
08:15

Bead Aggregation Assays for the Characterization of Putative Cell Adhesion Molecules

Published on: October 17, 2014

New insights into cadherin function in epidermal sheet formation and maintenance of tissue integrity

Christopher L Tinkle1, H Amalia Pasolli, Nicole Stokes

  • 1Laboratory of Mammalian Cell Biology and Development, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY 10065, USA.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
|September 24, 2008
PubMed

Insights

This study reveals new functions for E- and P-cadherins in skin. Cadherin suppression impairs skin barrier function and tissue integrity, highlighting their critical roles in epidermal health.

Area of Science:

  • Cell Biology
  • Developmental Biology
  • Dermatology

Background:

  • Cadherins are crucial for cell adhesion but their specific roles in mammalian tissues are complex due to co-expression and gene linkage.
  • Understanding cadherin function is vital for tissue development and maintenance, particularly in the epidermis.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To elucidate the physiological relevance of E-cadherin and P-cadherin in epidermal sheet formation and tissue integrity.
  • To investigate the impact of cadherin suppression on junction formation, apoptosis, and epidermal barrier function.

Main Methods:

  • Utilized conditional gene ablation and transgenic RNA interference (RNAi) for targeted gene manipulation in skin.
  • Developed skin-specific RNAi technology to inhibit cadherin expression in vivo.
  • Performed in vitro studies on epidermal sheet formation and in vivo assessments of epidermal integrity.

Main Results:

  • Cadherin inhibition in vivo led to impaired junction formation, reduced intercellular adhesion, and increased apoptosis, compromising epidermal barrier function.
  • In vitro, loss of E-cadherin delayed epidermal sheet formation, while combined loss of E- and P-cadherins disrupted multiple junction types and actin dynamics.
  • Cadherin level, not subtype, was found to be critical for these functions.
  • Dissected cadherin-dependent and independent roles of adherens junction components.

Conclusions:

  • E- and P-cadherins are essential for epidermal integrity and barrier function.
  • Cadherin levels are critical determinants of epidermal homeostasis.
  • Adherens junction components have both cadherin-dependent and independent roles in tissue physiology.

More Related Videos

Characterizing Epithelial Wound Healing In Vivo Using the Cnidarian Model Organism Clytia hemisphaerica07:47

Characterizing Epithelial Wound Healing In Vivo Using the Cnidarian Model Organism Clytia hemisphaerica

Published on: February 10, 2023

Differentiation of Mouse Breast Epithelial HC11 and EpH4 Cells09:32

Differentiation of Mouse Breast Epithelial HC11 and EpH4 Cells

Published on: February 27, 2020

Related Concept Videos

Structure of Cadherins01:25

Structure of Cadherins

The cadherins were one of the first cell adhesion molecules discovered; the term “cadherins”   is based on their calcium-dependent adhering properties. The first cadherins discovered on the epithelial, neuronal, and placental cells were named E-cadherin, P-cadherin, and N-cadherin, respectively. These classical cadherins share sequence and structural similarities. Other cadherins, including those involved in cell signaling, are grouped into non-classical cadherins. This diversity of cadherins...
Cadherins in Tissue Organization01:19

Cadherins in Tissue Organization

The cadherins are a superfamily of cell adhesion molecules comprising over 180 variants, with specific tissues expressing a particular combination of cadherin types. Cadherins generally exhibit homophilic binding; i.e., cadherins on one cell bind to cadherins of the same or closely related type on another cell. Thus, cells of the same type have a specific affinity to bind to each other and sort themselves into clusters to form tissues.
Cell Sorting During Development
Cell sorting plays an...
Catenins01:23

Catenins

Catenins are characterized by multiple binding domains and dynamic structures that allow them to function as linker proteins in cell junction complexes. All catenins, except α-catenin, contain a characteristic protein sequence called the armadillo repeat and are therefore also called armadillo proteins.
Catenins in Cell Junctions
Catenins bind to cell adhesion molecules such as cadherins and link them to different cytoskeletal proteins depending on the type of cell junction. At the adherens...
Adherens Junctions01:24

Adherens Junctions

Strong contact points between adjacent cells anchor them to each other, forming tissues. Such anchoring junctions are of two types –  adherens junctions and desmosomes. Adherens junctions are abundant in tissues such as  epithelium and endothelium, forming a continuous zone of adhesion called the adhesion belt. In other tissues, such as  heart muscle, they appear as clusters, linking the cells to produce coordinated heart muscle contraction.
Adherens Junctions are Dynamic
The endothelial cells...
Role of Ephrin-Eph Signalling in Intestinal Stem Cell Renewal01:22

Role of Ephrin-Eph Signalling in Intestinal Stem Cell Renewal

Erythropoietin-producing hepatocellular carcinoma receptor (Eph) and its ligand, Eph receptor-interacting protein (Ephrin) were first discovered in the human carcinoma cell line, hence the name. Ephrin-Eph interaction guides cells to reach their appropriate location in adult tissues. They also play an essential role in the immune system by helping in immune cell migration, adhesion, and activation. Based on their structure and function, Eph is divided into two classes — EphA and EphB.
Tension Response at Adherens Junctions01:26

Tension Response at Adherens Junctions

The adherens junctions that anchor cells together are multi-protein complexes that dynamically adapt to mechanical stimuli such as tensile forces and shear stress. Mechanosensory proteins in these junctions can sense such mechanical stimuli and undergo a shift in their conformation, resulting in an altered function — a process called mechanotransduction.
α-Catenin as a Mechanosensory Protein
The α-catenin of adherens junctions is an allosteric protein with three VH (vinculin homology) domains...