Epithelial Cell-Like Elasticity Modulates Actin-Dependent E-Cadherin Adhesion Organization.

ABSTRACT: E-cadherin adhesions are essential for cell-to-cell cohesion and mechanical coupling between epithelial cells and reside in a microenvironment that comprises the adjoining epithelial cells. While E-cadherin has been shown to be a mechanosensor, it is unknown if E-cadherin adhesions can differentially sense stiffness within the range of that of epithelial cells. A survey of literature shows that epithelial cells' Young's moduli of elasticity lie predominantly in the sub-kPa to few-kPa range, with cancer cells often being softer than noncancerous ones. Here, we devised oriented E-cadherin-coated soft silicone substrates with sub-kPa or few-kPa elasticity but with similar viscous moduli and found that E-cadherin adhesions differentially organize depending on the magnitude of epithelial cell-l

SUBMITTER: Eftekharjoo M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9199519 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature