11/17/2015

CellJunctions,CellAdhesion,andtheExtracellularMatrixMolecularBiologyoftheCellNCBIBookshelf

NCBIBookshelf.AserviceoftheNationalLibraryofMedicine,NationalInstitutesofHealth.

AlbertsB,JohnsonA,LewisJ,etal.MolecularBiologyoftheCell.4thedition.NewYork:GarlandScience
2002.

Chapter19 CellJunctions,CellAdhesion,andtheExtracellularMatrix
Figure

Theplantcellwall.Theextracellularmatrixofbothplantsand
animalsconsistsoftoughfibersembeddedinajellylike
matrix.Anonioncellwallhasbeenextractedtorevealthe
underlyingmeshworkoftough,loadbearingcellulosefibers.
Thisstructure(more...)
Inthischapter,weconsiderwhatholdsthecellsofamulticellularorganismtogether.Cellsare
small,deformable,andoftenmotileobjects,filledwithanaqueousmediumandenclosedina
flimsyplasmamembraneyettheycancombineintheirmillionstoformastructureasmassive,as
strong,andasstrictlyorderedasahorseoratree.Wehavetoexplainwhatgivessuchmulticellular
assembliestheirstrengthandkeepsthecellsintheirproperplaces.
Thebuildingtechnologiesofanimalsandplantsaredifferent,andeachtypeoforganismisformed
ofmanytypesoftissues,inwhichthecellsareassembledandboundtogetherindifferentways.In
bothanimalsandplants,however,anessentialpartisplayedinmosttissuesbytheextracellular
matrix.Thiscomplexnetworkofsecretedextracellularmacromoleculeshasmanyfunctions,but
firstandforemostitformsasupportingframework.Ithelpsholdcellsandtissuestogether,and,in
animals,itprovidesanorganizedenvironmentwithinwhichmigratorycellscanmoveandinteract
withoneanotherinorderlyways.Theextracellularmatrix,however,isonlyhalfthestory.In
animalsespecially,thecellsofmosttissuesarebounddirectlytooneanotherbycellcelljunctions.
Thesetooareofmanytypes,servingmanypurposesinadditiontomechanicalattachmentbut
withoutthem,ourbodieswoulddisintegrate.
Invertebrates,themajortissuetypesarenerve,muscle,blood,lymphoid,epithelial,andconnective
tissues.Connectivetissueandepithelialtissuerepresenttwoextremesoforganization(Figure19
1).Inconnectivetissue,theextracellularmatrixisplentiful,andcellsaresparselydistributedwithin
it.Thematrixisrichinfibrouspolymers,especiallycollagen,anditisthematrixratherthanthe
cellsthatbearsmostofthemechanicalstresstowhichthetissueissubjected.Directattachments
betweenonecellandanotherarerelativelyrare.
Figure191

Acrosssectionalviewofpartofthewalloftheintestine.This
long,tubelikeorganisconstructedfromepithelialtissue(red),
connectivetissue(green),andmuscletissue(yellow).Each
tissueisanorganizedassemblyofcellsheldtogetherbycell
cell(more...)
Inepithelialtissue,bycontrast,cellsaretightlyboundtogetherintosheetscalledepithelia.The
extracellularmatrixisscanty,consistingmainlyofathinmatcalledthebasallamina,which
underliestheepithelium.Thecellsareattachedtoeachotherbycellcelladhesions,whichbear
mostofthemechanicalstresses.Forthispurpose,strongintracellularproteinfilaments
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11/17/2015

CellJunctions,CellAdhesion,andtheExtracellularMatrixMolecularBiologyoftheCellNCBIBookshelf

(componentsofthecytoskeleton)crossthecytoplasmofeachepithelialcellandattachto
specializedjunctionsintheplasmamembrane.Thejunctions,inturn,tiethesurfacesofadjacent
cellseithertoeachotherortotheunderlyingbasallamina.
Epithelialcellsheetslineallthecavitiesandfreesurfacesofthebody.Thespecializedjunctions
betweenthecellsenableepitheliatoformbarriersthatinhibitthemovementofwater,solutes,and
cellsfromonebodycompartmenttoanother.AsillustratedinFigure191,epitheliaalmostalways
restonasupportingbedofconnectivetissue.Thissupportingbedmayinturnattachthemtoother
tissues,suchasthemuscleshowninthefigure.Inthisway,tissuesjointogetherinvarious
combinationstoformlargerfunctionalunitscalledorgans.
Inthischapter,wefirstdiscussthestructureandfunctionofthespecializedcellcellandcellmatrix
junctions,whicharecollectivelycalledcelljunctions.Wenextconsiderhowanimalcellsrecognize
andbindtooneanotherastheymoveandassembleintotissuesandorgansaprocesscalledcell
adhesion.Wethendiscussthestructureandorganizationoftheextracellularmatrixinanimals,as
wellasthemaincellsurfacereceptorsthatanimalcellsusetobindtothematrix.Finally,we
considerthespecialextracellularmatrixthatsurroundseachcellinaplanttheplantcellwall.
Contents
CellJunctions
CellCellAdhesion
TheExtracellularMatrixofAnimals
Integrins
ThePlantCellWall
References
Byagreementwiththepublisher,thisbookisaccessiblebythesearchfeature,butcannotbebrowsed.
Copyright2002,BruceAlberts,AlexanderJohnson,JulianLewis,MartinRaff,KeithRoberts,andPeter
WalterCopyright1983,1989,1994,BruceAlberts,DennisBray,JulianLewis,MartinRaff,KeithRoberts,
andJamesD.Watson.
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