What is the purpose of desmosomes?
Table of Contents
What is the purpose of desmosomes?
Desmosomes represent major intercellular adhesive junctions at basolateral membranes of epithelial cells and in other tissues. They mediate direct cell-cell contacts and provide anchorage sites for intermediate filaments important for the maintenance of tissue architecture.
Do humans have desmosomes?
Since desmosomes are relatively easily identifiable by their ultrastructural appearance, they were the first specific cell junctions recognized in human skin by electron microscopy.
What are desmosomes in simple terms?
Definition of desmosome : a specialized structure of the cell membrane especially of an epithelial cell that serves as a zone of adhesion to anchor contiguous cells together.
Where can I find desmosomes?
Desmosomes are one of the stronger cell-to-cell adhesion types and are found in tissue that experience intense mechanical stress, such as cardiac muscle tissue, bladder tissue, gastrointestinal mucosa, and epithelia.
Where do we find desmosomes?
What is the root word of desmosome?
In 1920, the term “desmosome” was originated by Josef Schaffer. The first combining form, desmo-, New Latin from Greek desmos, bond, carries meaning of binding or bonding things together. Combined with -some, which comes from soma, body, it thus makes a desmosome a “binding body”.
What is a desmosome skin?
Desmosomes are very abundant in the skin and mediate a strong adhesion between the epidermal keratinocytes from the basale cell layer to the stratum corneum. These junctions can rapidly respond to environmental changes, and allow the dynamic processes such as wound healing to occur.
Why are desmosomes important in the heart?
Cardiac myocytes must maintain mechanical and electrical connections for proper cardiac contraction. Desmosomes and adherens junctions are well known for maintaining structural connections, while gap junctions and ion channels facilitate electrical communication between cells (Simpson et al., 2011.
Where are Desmosomes found?
What happens if Desmosomes are dysfunctional?
Loss of expression or interference with the function of desmosome molecules results in diseases of the heart and skin and contributes to cancer progression.
