Hemidesmosome
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208325492
2008-04-26T14:35:12Z
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'''Hemidesmosomes''' (HD) are very small stud- or rivet-like structures on the inner basal surface of [[keratinocyte]]s in the [[epidermis (skin)|epidermis]] of skin. They are similar in form to [[desmosome]]s when visualized by electron microscopy. While desmosomes link two cells together, hemidesmosomes attach one cell to the extracellular matrix. Rather than using cadherins, hemidesmosomes use integrin cell adhesion proteins. Hemidesmosomes are asymmetrical and are found in epithelial cells connecting the basal face to other cells.
The HD comprises two rivet-like [[Plaque (dermatology)|plaque]]s (the inner and outer plaques), together with the anchoring [[fibril]]s and anchoring [[Protein filament|filament]]s these are collectively termed the HD-stable adhesion complex or HD-anchoring filament complex.
Together, the HD-anchoring filament complex forms a continuous structural link between the basal keratinocyte [[keratin]] intermediate filaments and the underlying ''[[basement membrane]] zone'' (BMZ) and dermal components. Over the past decade, these structures have been shown to comprise a variety of some 10 or more molecular components.
An example configuration of a hemidesmosome might consist of [[cytosol]]ic keratin, non-[[covalent]]ly bonded to a cytosolic [[plectin]] plaque, which is bonded to a [[Transmembrane protein|single-pass transmembrane]] adhesion molecule such as the α6β4 [[integrin]]. The integrin might then attach to one of many multi-adhesive proteins such as [[laminin]], resident within the [[extracellular matrix]], thereby forming one of many potential adhesions between cell and matrix.
[[electron microscope|Electron microscopic]] analysis of the epidermal basement membrane zone (BMZ) reveals that it comprises a narrow and sometimes folded interface between the basal keratinocytes and the [[dermis]]. At high power, several complex structures are observed within the epidermal BMZ. The epidermal BMZ shows small (< 0.5 micrometers), regularly spaced electron dense structures which are the hemidesmosomes. Thin, extracellular, electron-dense lines, parallel to the [[plasma membrane]], subjacent to the outer plaque are visible in one third of HDs and are termed sub-basal dense plates (SBDPs).
Anchoring filaments traverse the '''lamina lucida''' space and appear to insert into the electron dense zone, the '''lamina densa'''. Beneath the lamina densa, loop-structured, cross-banded anchoring fibrils extend more than 300 nm beneath the basement membrane within the papillary dermis. The length of these loops may enable them to link or encircle dermal [[collagen]] fibers or other components such as those of the elastic microfibril network.
==See also==
* [[focal adhesion]]
* [[desmosome]]
* [[epidermolysis bullosa]]
* [[junctional complex]]
{{CellJunction}}
[[Category:Cell anatomy]]
[[Category:integumentary system]]
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