Cadherin controls nectin recruitment into adherens junctions by remodeling the actin cytoskeleton.
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ABSTRACT: The mechanism that coordinates activities of different adhesion receptors is poorly understood. We investigated this mechanism by focusing on the nectin-2 and E-cadherin adherens junction receptors. We found that, cadherin was not required for the basic process of nectin junction formation because nectin-2 formed junctions in cadherin-deficient A431D cells. Formation of nectin-2 junctions in these cells, however, became regulated by cadherin as soon as E-cadherin was re-expressed. E-cadherin recruited nectin-2 into adherens junctions, where both proteins formed distinct but tightly associated clusters. Live-cell imaging showed that the appearance of E-cadherin clusters often preceded that of nectin-2 clusters at sites of junction assembly. Inactivation of E-cadherin clustering by different strategies concomitantly suppressed the formation of nectin clusters. Furthermore, cadherin significantly increased the stability of nectin clusters, thereby making them resistant to the BC-12 antibody, which targets the nectin-2 adhesion interface. By testing different E-cadherin-?-catenin chimeras, we showed that the recruitment of nectin into chimera junctions is mediated by the actin-binding domain of ?-catenin. Our data suggests that E-cadherin regulates assembly of nectin junctions through ?-catenin-induced remodeling of the actin cytoskeleton around the cadherin clusters.
SUBMITTER: Troyanovsky RB
PROVIDER: S-EPMC4282050 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Jan
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
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