How do cytoskeleton-linked junctions bind epithelial cells robustly to one another and to the basal lamina?
A.
The cell junctions that hold an epithelium together by forming strong mechanical attachments are of three main types.
B.
Adherens junctions and desmosomes bind one epithelial cell to another, while hemidesmosomes bind epithelial cells to the basal lamina.
C.
All of these junctions provide mechanical strength to the epithelium by the same strategy: the proteins that form the junctions span the plasma membrane and are linked inside the cell to cytoskeletal filaments.
D.
In this way, the cytoskeletal filaments are tied into a network that extends from cell to cell across the whole expanse of the epithelial sheet.