Desmosomal Molecules In and Out of Adhering Junctions: Normal and Diseased States of Epidermal, Cardiac and Mesenchymally Derived Cells
Figure 4
Schematic comparison of the different principles of organization of cell-cell junctions containing desmosomal proteins in mammalian epidermal and myocardiac tissue. (a) Junction organizations between epidermal keratinocytes as observed in the stratum spinosum. Note the densely spaced desmosomes (red plaques), which anchor bundles of intermediate sized filaments containing keratins (dark-green). Smaller adherens junctions (puncta adhaerentia, yellow plaques) anchor actin-microfilament bundles (red filaments). Furthermore, special types of tight junction-like structures, the small “stud junctions” (black dots), and channel-like connexin paracrystals (gap junctions, blue) are also generally found. For details see [29, 30]. (b) The area composita (composite junction, orange) structures of intercalated disks (ID) connecting cardiomyocytes of an adult mammalian heart. This amalgamated type of adhering junction is characterized by a mixture of typical desmosomal and AJ molecules. This kind of composite junction is the predominating adhering junction structure in the ID of the adult mammalian heart.
