Poster abstracts
Poster number 36 submitted by Brandon Neel
Complex mechanical response of the cadherin-mediated adherens junction predicted by molecular dynamics simulations
Brandon Neel (OSBP, Dept. Chemistry & Biochemistry, Ohio State University), Marcos Sotomayor (Dept. Chemistry & Biochemistry, Ohio State University)
Abstract:
Cell-cell contacts in animal epithelia are mediated by classical members of the cadherin superfamily. One of these cellular contacts, the adherens junction, is responsible for the formation and maintenance of epithelia. The adherens junction dynamically responds to force originating both extra- and intra-cellularly. Aside from the adherens junction’s structural role in cell-cell contacts, it also is bound to and sequesters multiple cell-proliferation signaling molecules. We have used molecular dynamics simulations to explore both the extracellular and intracellular components of the adherens junction. Our simulations of epithelial cadherin (CDH1) molecules that constitute the extracellular portion of the adherens junction predict that the locations of the CDH1 molecules within the junction alters their response to force, that partially stretched but not broken junctions recover their structure quickly, and that the shearing of cellular planes is preferential in one direction versus another. Simulations of a minimal adherens junction predict a mechanism for the initial release of signaling molecules from the junction upon forced cell-cell rupture. Overall, our simulations provide a detailed view of cadherin mechanics within adherens junction with specific predictions that can be tested experimentally.
Keywords: cadherin, simulation, cellular junction