Cell adhesion articles within Nature Communications

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  • Article
    | Open Access

    Assembly of a collagen extracellular matrix requires the presence of fibronectin, but the mechanisms that direct this assembly are not known. Here the authors show that collagen I uses relaxed fibronectin fibrils as a template for assembly, and in turn shield fibronectin fibrils from force-mediated stretching.

    • Kristopher E. Kubow
    • , Radmila Vukmirovic
    •  & Viola Vogel

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Epithelial wound closure proceeds through both crawling into the wound and by constricting an actomyosin cable in a so-called purse-string mechanism. Here the authors show that the two mechanisms are mechanically coupled and the curvature of the wound regulates the overall dynamics of wound closure.

    • Andrea Ravasio
    • , Ibrahim Cheddadi
    •  & Benoit Ladoux

  • Article |

    Adherent cells actively probe the rigidity of their substrates. Guptaet al. show that actin cytoskeleton rheology transitions from fluid to solid with increased substrate stiffness along with an isotropic to nematic ordering, implicating the remodelling of the whole actin network in rigidity sensing.

    • Mukund Gupta
    • , Bibhu Ranjan Sarangi
    •  & Benoît Ladoux

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Cell-matrix adhesions may increase or decrease in size in response to tension; however, the factors determining which of these responses predominates remain unclear. Hernández-Varas et al. quantify the plastic relationship between adhesion size and tension and use modelling to explain this behaviour.

    • Pablo Hernández-Varas
    • , Ulrich Berge
    •  & Staffan Strömblad

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Fibronectin fibres are an important component of the extracellular matrix, supporting cell adhesion, growth and migration. Here the authors combine site-specific protein labelling with single-molecule localization microscopy to provide detailed insights into the molecular organization of native fibronectin fibrils.

    • Susanna Maria Früh
    • , Ingmar Schoen
    •  & Viola Vogel

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Piezo ion channels function as mechanotransducers involved in vascular development and touch sensing, but their structural features remain unknown. Here the authors find that the C-terminal region of Piezo protein encompasses the pore and identify a glutamate residue within this region involved in ion conduction properties.

    • Bertrand Coste
    • , Swetha E. Murthy
    •  & Ardem Patapoutian

  • Article
    | Open Access

    How cells maintain directional polarity when migrating through a complex environment is not well understood. Here Sung et al. show that autocrine exosome secretion is required for persistent and efficient in vivocancer cell motility and promotes assembly of adhesion complexes by delivering fibronectin-bound exosomes.

    • Bong Hwan Sung
    • , Tatiana Ketova
    •  & Alissa M. Weaver

  • Article |

    Angiogenesis is regulated by dynamic changes in endothelial cell contact. Here, the authors show that signals from endothelial cell junctions affect the subcellular localization and function of Yes-associated protein, ultimately modifying angiopoietin-2 expression and angiogenic activity of endothelial cells.

    • Hyun-Jung Choi
    • , Haiying Zhang
    •  & Young-Guen Kwon

  • Article |

    The lipid kinase PI3KC2α is essential for embryogenesis, yet its role in adult homeostasis is unknown. Here, the authors show that PI3KC2α regulates the structure of the internal membrane reserves of murine megakaryocytes and platelets, affecting the platelets’ adhesiveness and prothrombotic function.

    • Jessica K. Mountford
    • , Claire Petitjean
    •  & Shaun P. Jackson

  • Article |

    The role of integrin β1 in angiogenesis is poorly understood. Here, the authors show that integrin β1 regulates murine angiogenesis and adherens junction integrity by controlling VE-cadherin localization, myosin light chain phosphorylation and the function of the Rap1/MRCK and Rho/Rho-kinase pathways.

    • Hiroyuki Yamamoto
    • , Manuel Ehling
    •  & Ralf H. Adams

  • Article |

    Studies of cellular mechanotransduction commonly use elastic substrates, whereas biological substrates are viscoelastic, exhibiting stress relaxation. Here, the authors show through computational modelling and experiments that viscoelastic substrates can stimulate cell spreading to a greater extent than purely elastic substrates with the same initial stiffness.

    • Ovijit Chaudhuri
    • , Luo Gu
    •  & David J. Mooney

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Mammalian mitochondria are capable of inter-organelle communication, but connections between mitochondria have not been defined. Here, Picard et al. report the presence of inter-mitochondrial junctions, electron-dense regions with coordinated inner membrane cristae that do not depend on mitofusins for their formation.

    • Martin Picard
    • , Meagan J. McManus
    •  & Douglas C. Wallace

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Protein phosphorylation is known to play an important role in cell adhesion signalling. Robertson et al. present a proteomic resource mapping the phosphorylation states of proteins isolated from adhesion complexes and, taking advantage of this data set, show that the cell cycle kinase CDK1 may influence cell adhesion.

    • Joseph Robertson
    • , Guillaume Jacquemet
    •  & Martin J. Humphries

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Angiopoietin-1 (Ang1) and angiopoietin-2 (Ang2) have opposing effects on vascular stability through their receptor Tie2, but there is evidence for Tie2-independent functions of Ang2. Here, Hakanpaa et al.show that Ang2 directly activates β1-integrin, leading to rearrangement of the actin cytoskeleton and decreased VE-cadherin in cell–cell junctions.

    • Laura Hakanpaa
    • , Tuomas Sipila
    •  & Pipsa Saharinen

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The proteoglycan Agrin is known to be expressed in neurons and muscle and to bind ECM protein laminin. Here the authors report that Agrin promotes hepatocellular carcinoma by stimulating proliferation, decreasing focal adhesion, increasing invasiveness and promoting an epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition.

    • Sayan Chakraborty
    • , Manikandan Lakshmanan
    •  & Wanjin Hong

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Closure of epithelial gaps such as wounds is thought to involve contraction of an actomyosin ‘purse-string’. By creating non-adherent gaps to exclude contributions of adhesive protrusion, the authors find that large-scale tension, more than purse-string contraction, mediates closure.

    • Sri Ram Krishna Vedula
    • , Grégoire Peyret
    •  & Benoit Ladoux

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Epithelial cells must position their mitotic spindle correctly to maintain cell–cell adhesion. Here Vitiello et al. show that the tumour suppressor DLC2 and the mitotic kinesin Kif1b coordinate microtubule–actin interactions upstream of mDia3, guiding spindle positioning and mitotic fidelity.

    • Elisa Vitiello
    • , Jorge G. Ferreira
    •  & Karl Matter

  • Article |

    Integrins are activated by binding to the cytoskeletal adaptor talin, but the mechanisms guiding activation are unclear. Here Yang et al.show that the Rap1 effector RIAM binds to the integrin-binding head of talin to promote integrin activation, perhaps by sterically interfering with talin autoinhibition.

    • Jun Yang
    • , Liang Zhu
    •  & Jun Qin

  • Article |

    Cells probe and respond to their physical environment by exerting force on their surroundings. Here Mandal et al.grow cells in the same shape and area but on different adhesive patterns to show that they integrate information on extra-cellular matrix geometry at the whole-cell level.

    • Kalpana Mandal
    • , Irène Wang
    •  & Martial Balland

  • Article |

    The presynaptic LAR-RPTPs interact with postsynaptic Slitrks and this contributes to regulating synapse formation. Here, the authors identified the minimal binding regions and determined the crystal structure of the resulting complex and performed functional analysis in cells to determine LAR-RPTP/Slitrk complex-mediated synapse formation.

    • Ji Won Um
    • , Kee Hun Kim
    •  & Ho Min Kim

  • Article |

    Imaging mechanical tension experienced by single adhesion molecules in living cells remains a significant challenge. Zhang et al.design fluorescent probes based on DNA hairpins that can be programmed to reversibly report specific force levels generated by individual integrin molecules in a digital manner.

    • Yun Zhang
    • , Chenghao Ge
    •  & Khalid Salaita

  • Article |

    Desmosomes are adhesive junctions that are essential for epithelial barrier function. Here, Kurinna et al. identify a role for the transcription factor Nrf2 in regulating the expression of micro-RNA genes that control the integrity of desmosomes, through modulating the expression of desmocollin-2.

    • Svitlana Kurinna
    • , Matthias Schäfer
    •  & Sabine Werner

  • Article |

    Molecular details of the synergy between integrins and syndecans are poorly understood. Here, Fiore et al. show that syndecan-4 and α5β1integrin form a trimolecular complex with Thy-1 that exhibits ‘dynamic catch’ behaviour, in which force strengthens the synergistic binding and modulates signalling at the focal adhesion level.

    • Vincent F. Fiore
    • , Lining Ju
    •  & Thomas H. Barker

  • Article |

    At cell–cell adhesions, α-catenin contains a cryptic vinculin-binding site. Here, Yao et al. demonstrate, using magnetic tweezers, that physiologically relevant forces unfurl α-catenin to reveal the vinculin-binding site, and allow the reversible binding of vinculin to mechanically reinforce the adhesion.

    • Mingxi Yao
    • , Wu Qiu
    •  & Jie Yan

  • Article |

    Endothelial cells at the inner surface of blood vessels are exposed to mechanical forces as a result of blood flow. Here the authors show that the interaction of extracellular matrix proteins with adhesion molecules on the endothelial cell surface determines cellular stiffness and sensitivity to mechanical forces.

    • Caitlin Collins
    • , Lukas D. Osborne
    •  & Ellie Tzima

  • Article |

    Cadherins are calcium-dependent adhesion molecules that can form catch bonds, characterized by longer lifetimes at higher force. Here, Manibog et al. determine the mechanism of catch bond formation, whereby tension induces hydrogen bond formation between opposing extracellular domains in a calcium-dependent manner.

    • Kristine Manibog
    • , Hui Li
    •  & Sanjeevi Sivasankar

  • Article |

    Cell–cell adhesion molecules and the cytoskeleton determine endothelial cell shape during the formation of blood vessels. Here the authors show that the scaffold protein, amotL2, couples adherens junctions to contractile cytoskeletal proteins to coordinate cellular morphogenesis with aortic lumen expansion.

    • Sara Hultin
    • , Yujuan Zheng
    •  & Lars Holmgren

  • Article |

    Arp2/3 is a seven-subunit actin-nucleating complex. Here, Chorev et al.identify a novel ‘hybrid complex’ consisting of the actin-nucleating three-subunit core of Arp2/3 and the focal adhesion adapter, vinculin, that localizes to, and modulates the growth of, focal adhesions.

    • Dror S. Chorev
    • , Oren Moscovitz
    •  & Michal Sharon

  • Article |

    Polymorphisms in the integrin gene CD11bare associated with susceptibility to systemic lupus erythematosus, but how this relates to the function of this integrin has not been fully investigated. Here, the authors report that CD11b has a role in the intrinsic maintenance of autoreactive B cell tolerance by regulating BCR signalling.

    • Chuanlin Ding
    • , Yunfeng Ma
    •  & Jun Yan

  • Article |

    Kindlin-1 regulates integrin activation at cell adhesions. Here Patel et al.report that Kindlin-1 also localizes to centrosomes where it controls the formation of mitotic spindles in a manner that requires integrin activation and Kindlin-1 phosphorylation by the mitotic kinase Plk-1.

    • Hitesh Patel
    • , Judith Zich
    •  & Valerie G. Brunton

  • Article |

    Aberrant production of oestrogens by adipose stromal cells is a driving factor in oestrogen receptor-positive breast cancer. Here the authors discover that oestrogen synthesis in adipose tissue is regulated by mechanical stress, and reveal how this effect is mediated.

    • Sagar Ghosh
    • , Keith Ashcraft
    •  & Rong Li

  • Article |

    Vascular permeability is increased by inflammation and in disorders such as acute respiratory distress syndrome. Mammoto et al. show that lung vascular permeability is controlled by the stiffness of the extracellular matrix and identify lysyl oxidase as a regulator of vascular leakage in pulmonary oedema in mice.

    • Akiko Mammoto
    • , Tadanori Mammoto
    •  & Donald E. Ingber

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Mechanical allodynia describes the process whereby innocuous stimuli is perceived as being noxious and is a common symptom of neuropathic pain. Using mice deficient in the cAMP sensor Epac1, the authors in this study find that Epac1 regulates mechanical allodynia by sensitizing the mechanotransducer Piezo2.

    • N Eijkelkamp
    • , J.E. Linley
    •  & J.N. Wood

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The use of animal products as culture substrates for human embryonic stem cell and induced pluripotent stem cell culture raises numerous safety concerns in a therapeutic setting. Miyazaki et al.. show that minimal fragments of human laminins provide a more effective support for the culture of these cell types.

    • Takamichi Miyazaki
    • , Sugiko Futaki
    •  & Eihachiro Kawase

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