Downloaded from http://cshperspectives.cshlp.org/ on September 26, 2021 - Published by Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press Adherens Junctions on the Move—Membrane Trafficking of E-Cadherin Lena Bru¨ser1 and Sven Bogdan1,2 1Institut fu¨r Neurobiologie, Universita¨tMu¨nster, Badestraße 9, 48149 Mu¨nster, Germany 2Institut fu¨r Physiologie und Pathophysiologie, Abteilung Molekulare Zellphysiologie, Phillips-Universita¨t Marburg, Emil-Mannkopff-Straße 2, 35037 Marburg, Germany Correspondence:
[email protected] Cadherin-based adherens junctions are conserved structuresthat mediate epithelial cell–cell adhesion in invertebrates andvertebrates. Despite their pivotal function in epithelial integrity, adherens junctions show a remarkable plasticity that is a prerequisite for tissue architecture and morphogenesis. Epithelial cadherin (E-cadherin) is continuously turned over and under- goes cycles of endocytosis, sorting and recycling back to the plasma membrane. Mammalian cell culture and genetically tractable model systems such as Drosophila have revealed con- served, but also distinct, mechanisms in the regulation of E-cadherin membrane trafficking. Here, we discuss our current knowledge about molecules and mechanisms controlling endocytosis, sorting and recycling of E-cadherin during junctional remodeling. he ability of epithelial cells to organize into Classical cadherins such as E-cadherin are Tmonolayered sheets is a prerequisite for single-pass membrane proteins with character- multicellularity, thereby providing tissue in- istic extracellular cadherin (EC) repeat do- tegrity, barrier function, and tissue polarity in mains that mediate trans-homophilic interac- metazoan organisms. Adherens junctions (AJs) tions between neighboring cells. While the are conserved key structures that mediate cell– numbers of ECs vary between different species, cell adhesion in invertebrates and vertebrates.