Desmoglein-2 harnesses a PDZ-GEF2/Rap1 signaling axis to control cell spreading and focal adhesions independent of cell-cell adhesion.

ABSTRACT: Desmosomes have a central role in mediating extracellular adhesion between cells, but they also coordinate other biological processes such as proliferation, differentiation, apoptosis and migration. In particular, several lines of evidence have implicated desmosomal proteins in regulating the actin cytoskeleton and attachment to the extracellular matrix, indicating signaling crosstalk between cell-cell junctions and cell-matrix adhesions. In our study, we found that cells lacking the desmosomal cadherin Desmoglein-2 (Dsg2) displayed a significant increase in spreading area on both fibronectin and collagen, compared to control A431 cells. Intriguingly, this effect was observed in single spreading cells, indicating that Dsg2 can exert its effects on cell spreading independent of cell-cell ad

SUBMITTER: Shelton WT 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8225821 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature