HEMIDESMOSOMES - ROLES IN ADHESION, SIGNALING AND HUMAN-DISEASES

Our understanding of the role of hemidesmosomes in cell-substratum adh esion has greatly improved both as a result of targeted gene mutation experiments and by means of observations of several blistering disorde rs of the skin in which the absence or defects of hemidesmosomal prote ins have been demonstrated. Functionally important domains within the proteins that constitute hemidesmosomes have recently been identified by transfection and mutagenesis studies. These multiprotein complexes appear not only to mediate cell adhesion, but also to transduce signal s from the extracellular matrix to the cell interior that may profound ly modulate cell behavior.