Afadin-nectin forces its way to the front

Abstract

Force transmission at cell-cell junctions critically regulates embryogenesis, tissue homeostasis, and diseases including cancer. The cadherin-catenin linkage has been considered the keystone of junctional force transmission, but new findings challenge this paradigm, arguing instead that the nectin-afadin linkage plays the more important role in mature junctions in the intestinal epithelium.

Figure 1.

The current model (left panel) in which cadherin–catenin assembly forms the major connection to contractile actomyosin must be reconsidered in light of new data showing that in mature intestinal epithelial cells, the nectin–afadin complex links more strongly to actin and bears a higher proportion of the mechanical load (right panel).