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What Do Desmosomes Connect?

James H. Sterling • • 6 min read
What Do Desmosomes Connect?

Desmosomes are even stronger connections that join the intermediate filaments of neighboring cells. Hemidesmosomes (light blue) connect intermediate filaments of a cell to the basal lamina

basal lamina
The basal lamina layer can further be subdivided into two layers based on their visual appearance in electron microscopy. The lighter-colored layer closer to the epithelium is called the lamina lucida, while the denser-colored layer closer to the connective tissue is called the lamina densa.
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, a combination of extracellular molecules on other cell surfaces.

What connects desmosomes inside a cell?

Keratin filaments are shown connecting to desmosomes at sites of cell–cell contact and to hemidesmosomes at the basement membrane.

Do desmosomes anchor cells together?

This drawing shows how intracellular anchor proteins and transmembrane adhesion proteins form anchoring junctions. Anchoring junctions occur in two functionally different forms: 1. Adherens junctions and desmosomes hold cells together and are formed by transmembrane adhesion proteins that belong to the cadherin family.

James H. Sterling
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James H. Sterling

James Sterling reports on renewable energy developments, climate policy, ecological conservation, and green tech innovations around the globe.