Journal
FRONTIERS IN CELL AND DEVELOPMENTAL BIOLOGY
Volume 10, Issue -, Pages -Publisher
FRONTIERS MEDIA SA
DOI: 10.3389/fcell.2022.819534
Keywords
cell-cell adhesion; adherens junction; desmosome; tight junction; intercellular junctions; imaging techniques; microscopy; electron microscopy
Categories
Ask authors/readers for more resources
Considerable progress has been made in understanding the morphological and functional varieties of anchoring junctions. This review discusses the main microscopy techniques used to study cell-cell contacts and provides guidance for choosing appropriate imaging techniques. The latest techniques and challenges in studying cell-cell adhesion using microscopic techniques are also highlighted.
Considerable progress has been made in our knowledge of the morphological and functional varieties of anchoring junctions. Cell-cell adhesion contacts consist of discrete junctional structures responsible for the mechanical coupling of cytoskeletons and allow the transmission of mechanical signals across the cell collective. The three main adhesion complexes are adherens junctions, tight junctions, and desmosomes. Microscopy has played a fundamental role in understanding these adhesion complexes on different levels in both physiological and pathological conditions. In this review, we discuss the main light and electron microscopy techniques used to unravel the structure and composition of the three cell-cell contacts in epithelial and endothelial cells. It functions as a guide to pick the appropriate imaging technique(s) for the adhesion complexes of interest. We also point out the latest techniques that have emerged. At the end, we discuss the problems investigators encounter during their cell-cell adhesion research using microscopic techniques.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available