About this Research Topic

Background

Cell junctions are central regulators of cell-cell interactions, tissue architecture and collective cellular behaviors during tissue and organ morphogenesis and disease. Depending on the molecular composition and cellular context, these junctions can have different stabilities and interact with different cytoskeletal networks and signaling pathways. Studies to date have largely focused on cadherin-mediated adhesions at adherens junctions, since these molecules play critical roles in cell-cell adhesion and mechanotransduction and are amenable to live imaging and experimental disruption. Other types of junctional complexes, such as immunoglobulins and occluding junctions, have received less attention, but ongoing work reveals that these junctions are likewise important actors in tissue remodeling.

Over the last decades, technological advances in live-imaging and interdisciplinary approaches have identified cadherin-based adherens junctions as major drivers of cell-cell adhesion, cell dynamics and mechanotransduction, mostly in epithelial and endothelial tissues, but also in mesenchymal cells. Besides classical cadherin adherens junctions, other types of junctional complexes, such as immunoglobulins and occluding junctions are emerging as crucial regulators of tissue remodeling. Yet, due to their more basal-lateral location, necessitating analyses of tissue dynamics in 3D, and the tendency for these junctions to have redundant function, their functions have remained largely unexplored. This Research Topic aims to bring together a collection of review and research articles that focus on the roles of non-cadherin based cell-cell contacts during tissue remodeling. The recent development of new methodologies, such as super-resolution and machine learning, are now allowing the analysis of cellular dynamics considering the 3D cellular architecture. Therefore we encourage the submission of manuscripts using novel 3D-based approaches to study tissue morphogenesis. Also, we invite the submission of manuscripts dedicated to the understanding of the fundamental principles of cell adhesion during development or disease, using traditional and unconventional model organisms as well as in vitro approaches, such as organoids.

This Research topic welcomes Original Research, Methods, Reviews, Mini-Reviews and Opinion articles that cover the following subtopics:

• Contribution of lateral junctional complexes to epithelial morphogenesis and mechanics
• Role of non-cadherin molecules in cell adhesion between different cell types, such as in axon-glial interactions and neuromuscular junction
• Role of non-cadherin based adhesion in collective cell migration
• Interaction between non-cadherin junctions and the cytoskeleton
• Theoretical modeling of cellular rearrangements and architecture in 3D
• Novel approaches to analyze tissue morphogenesis in 3D and in quantitative manner
• Understanding disease relevant aspects of non-cadherin cell junctions

Keywords: Cell Junctions, Cell-Cell Adhesion, Mechanotransduction, Immunoglobulins, Occluding Junctions, Non-Cadherin Based Contacts

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