| First Author | Luo Y | Year | 2003 |
| Journal | J Cell Sci | Volume | 116 |
| Issue | Pt 8 | Pages | 1471-9 |
| PubMed ID | 12640032 | Mgi Jnum | J:118482 |
| Mgi Id | MGI:3699665 | Doi | 10.1242/jcs.00339 |
| Citation | Luo Y, et al. (2003) Cadherin-mediated adhesion is essential for myofibril continuity across the plasma membrane but not for assembly of the contractile apparatus. J Cell Sci 116(Pt 8):1471-9 |
| abstractText | The strong coordinated contraction of heart muscle is dependent on the correct alignment and connection of the myofibrils across the plasma membrane. Previous studies indicate that N-cadherin is involved in cardiac myocyte adhesion and myofibrillogenesis. To investigate whether N-cadherin is specifically required for normal myocyte structure and function, we cultured myocytes from wild-type, N-cadherin-null and mutant embryos expressing the epithelial cadherin E-cadherin. In contrast to previous studies in chicken using N-cadherin-perturbing antibodies, our in vitro studies with mouse cells demonstrate that N-cadherin is not required for myofibrillogenesis, but is critical for myofibril organization. That is, N-cadherin-deficient myocytes beat and myofibrils were well formed; however, alignment of the myofibrils through regions of cell-cell contact was lost, resulting in their random orientation. Gap junctions were perturbed in the N-cadherin-null myocytes. By contrast, focal contacts appeared normal in the mutant cells. Furthermore, E-cadherin restored normal cell morphology and behavior to the N-cadherin-deficient myocytes, including proper alignment of the myofibrils. We conclude that a different adhesive system, most probably integrin, is responsible for myofibrillogenesis in the N-cadherin-null myocytes. |
