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EntityQ846957· pop 34· linked from 173 articles

Also known as GO:0030057, spot desmosome, macula adherens, desmosomes

A desmosome (; "binding body"), also known as a macula adherens (plural: maculae adherentes) (Latin for adhering spot), is a cell structure specialized for cell-to-cell adhesion. A type of junctional complex, they are localized spot-like adhesions randomly arranged on the lateral sides of plasma membranes. Desmosomes are one of the stronger cell-to-cell adhesion types and are found in tissue that experience intense mechanical stress, such as cardiac muscle tissue, bladder tissue, gastrointestinal mucosa, and epithelia.

Key facts

Anatomy.Name
Desmosome
Anatomy.Latin
DesmosomaMacula adhaerens
Anatomy.Image
Desmosome cell junction en.svg
Anatomy.Caption
A desmosome.
Anatomy.Image2
Desmosome_-_2.png
Anatomy.Caption2
The extracellular core region containing desmocollin and desmoglein, and the plaque contain desmoplakin, which attaches to keratin intermediate filaments. Desmosome is a intercellular junction in animal cell.

via Wikipedia infobox

Research

8,828 papers

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Wikidata facts

Image
Desmosome cell junction it.svg
Show 3 more facts
Commons category
Desmosomes
native label
Macula adhaerens
Sources (3)

via Wikidata · CC0

~6 min read

Article

8 sections
Contents
  • Structure
  • Clinical significance
  • Arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy
  • Blisters
  • History
  • See also
  • References
  • External links

A desmosome (; "binding body"), also known as a macula adherens (plural: maculae adherentes) (Latin for adhering spot), is a cell structure specialized for cell-to-cell adhesion. A type of junctional complex, they are localized spot-like adhesions randomly arranged on the lateral sides of plasma membranes. Desmosomes are one of the stronger cell-to-cell adhesion types and are found in tissue that experience intense mechanical stress, such as cardiac muscle tissue, bladder tissue, gastrointestinal mucosa, and epithelia.

==Structure== Desmosomes are composed of desmosome-intermediate filament complexes (DIFCs), a network of cadherin proteins, linker proteins and intermediate filaments. The DIFCs can be broken into three regions: the extracellular core region ("desmoglea"), the outer dense plaque (ODP), and the inner dense plaque (IDP).

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