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Adherens Junctions

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

Fimbriae, Pili, and Axial Filaments

Fimbriae, Pili, and Axial Filaments

Fimbriae and pili are specialized bacterial surface structures that play pivotal roles in adhesion, genetic exchange, and motility. Composed primarily of pilin protein, these hairlike appendages are crucial for bacterial survival and pathogenicity in various environments.Fimbriae: Adhesion and PathogenicityFimbriae are fine, filamentous structures measuring 2–10 nanometers in diameter and are densely distributed on the bacterial cell surface. They facilitate bacterial adhesion to abiotic...

Tension Response at Adherens Junctions

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...

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Updated: Mar 22, 2026

Introducing Shear Stress in the Study of Bacterial Adhesion

Introducing Shear Stress in the Study of Bacterial Adhesion

Published on: September 2, 2011

Multiscale Model Describing Bacterial Adhesion and Detachment.

Sassan Ostvar¹, Brian D Wood¹

¹School of Chemical, Biological, and Environmental Engineering, Oregon State University , Corvallis, Oregon 97331, United States.

Langmuir : the ACS Journal of Surfaces and Colloids

|May 1, 2016

Summary

Bacterial surface adhesion is complex due to polymer properties. Our model shows that even minor length variations in cell-surface polymers create significant, nonlinear adhesive behaviors distinct from uniform surfaces.

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A Multi-well Format Polyacrylamide-based Assay for Studying the Effect of Extracellular Matrix Stiffness on the Bacterial Infection of Adherent Cells

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Published on: July 5, 2018

Area of Science:

Microbiology
Biophysics
Materials Science

Background:

Bacterial surfaces exhibit complex adhesive properties, deviating from ideal colloid behavior.
Cell-surface roughness and polymer mechanical properties significantly influence bacterial adhesion physics.

Purpose of the Study:

To develop a multiscale model for bacterial surface biopolymer interactions.
To investigate the impact of length heterogeneities in cell-surface polymers on adhesion.

Main Methods:

Developed a multiscale model integrating potential energy functions of biopolymers and extracellular environment interactions.
Studied discrete bond networks with significant length heterogeneities in cell-surface polymers.

Main Results:

The model accurately reproduces experimental force curves (approach and retraction).
Small-scale heterogeneities in cell-surface polymers induce macroscopically nonlinear adhesive behavior.
Quantified the energetic consequences of structural heterogeneity in bacterial adhesion.

Conclusions:

Structural heterogeneity in bacterial cell-surface polymers is a critical factor in adhesion.
The developed model provides a framework for understanding complex bacterial adhesion mechanics.
Findings offer insights into the physical basis of bacterial interactions.