Structure, Function, and Regulation of Desmosomes

Overview

Journal Prog Mol Biol Transl Sci

Specialty Molecular Biology

Date 2013 Mar 14

PMID 23481192

Citations 120

Authors

Andrew P Kowalczyk

Kathleen J Green

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Desmosomes are adhesive intercellular junctions that mechanically integrate adjacent cells by coupling adhesive interactions mediated by desmosomal cadherins to the intermediate filament cytoskeletal network. Desmosomal cadherins are connected to intermediate filaments by densely clustered cytoplasmic plaque proteins comprising members of the armadillo gene family, including plakoglobin and plakophilins, and members of the plakin family of cytolinkers, such as desmoplakin. The importance of desmosomes in tissue integrity is highlighted by human diseases caused by mutations in desmosomal genes, autoantibody attack of desmosomal cadherins, and bacterial toxins that selectively target desmosomal cadherins. In addition to reviewing the well-known roles of desmosomal proteins in tissue integrity, this chapter also highlights the growing appreciation for how desmosomal proteins are integrated with cell signaling pathways to contribute to vertebrate tissue organization and differentiation.

Citing Articles

Desmoplakin tail domain position in the desmosomal plaque is isoform dependent.

Ainslie C, Patel K, Tran Y, Bharathan N, Spindler V, Mattheyses A bioRxiv. 2025; .

PMID: 39975225 PMC: 11838450. DOI: 10.1101/2025.02.03.636241.

Desmosome and Hemidesmosome Disassembly in Retinal Pigmented Epithelium: Intersection with the Exosome Pathway.

Klingeborn M, Reese E Adv Exp Med Biol. 2025; 1468:339-343.

PMID: 39930219 DOI: 10.1007/978-3-031-76550-6_56.

Mechanics of cell sheets: plectin as an integrator of cytoskeletal networks.

Outla Z, Prechova M, Korelova K, Gemperle J, Gregor M Open Biol. 2025; 15(1):240208.

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Adipocyte-Mediated Electrophysiological Remodeling of PKP-2 Mutant Human Pluripotent Stem Cell-Derived Cardiomyocytes.

Morrissette-McAlmon J, Chua C, Arking A, Wu S, Teuben R, Chen E Biomedicines. 2024; 12(11).

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The molecular architecture of the desmosomal outer dense plaque by integrative structural modeling.

Pasani S, Menon K, Viswanath S Protein Sci. 2024; 33(12):e5217.

PMID: 39548826 PMC: 11568391. DOI: 10.1002/pro.5217.

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