Three Functionally Distinct Adhesions in Filopodia: Shaft Adhesions Control Lamellar Extension

Three functionally distinct adhesions in filopodia: shaft adhesions control lamellar extension.

In this study, adhesions on individual filopodial shafts were shown to control veil (lamellar) advance and to be modulated by guidance cues. Adhesions were detected in individual filopodia of sensory growth cones using optical recordings, adhesion markers, and electron microscopy. Veils readily advanced along filopodia lacking shaft adhesions but rarely advanced along filopodia displaying shaft...

Maturation of Filopodia Shaft Adhesions Is Upregulated by Local Cycles of Lamellipodia Advancements and Retractions

While cell-substrate adhesions that form between the protruding edge of a spreading cell and flat surfaces have been studied extensively, processes that regulate the maturation of filopodia adhesions are far less characterized. Since little is known about how the kinetics of formation or disassembly of filopodia adhesions is regulated upon integration into the lamellum, a kinetic analysis of th...

Focal adhesions are sites of integrin extension

Integrins undergo global conformational changes that specify their activation state. Current models portray the inactive receptor in a bent conformation that upon activation converts to a fully extended form in which the integrin subunit leg regions are separated to enable ligand binding and subsequent signaling. To test the applicability of this model in adherent cells, we used a fluorescent r...

Focal adhesions

What are they? Focal adhesions are the anchor points of the cell. These dynamic cytoskeletal structures are regions where the cell membrane firmly attaches to the extracellular matrix or the substratum. At the same time, focal adhesions provide scaffolding; they associate with an elaborate actin network inside the cell. Importantly, it’s now known that focal adhesions also act as communication ...

Pelvic adhesions