Endothelial adherens junctions and the actin

cytoskeleton: an 'infinity net'?

Abstract
A recent paper published in BMC Biology suggests that actin-based stress fibers in
adjacent endothelial cells can become linked through adherens junctions, enabling a
communication network extending throughout the endothelium, as well as
maintaining structural coherence and increasing resistance to stress.

The adherens junction

Endothelial cells form adhesions at the intercellular junctions, which allow the
movement of solutes and white blood cells between bloodstream and tissues, and
the segregation of signaling molecules for specific regulation.
Millan et al. [1] found that endothelial cells have a type of adherens junction that runs
perpendicular to the cell surface rather than parallel to the cell surface as in
conventional adherens junctions.

Local regulation of actin by adherens junctions in endothelial cells

Actin filaments organize perpendicularly to the membrane at early phases of junction
formation. Later, actin fibers organize parallel to the membrane to form a peripheral
actin rim.
-Catenin is a crucial molecule in the organization of actin at the adherens junctions. It
regulates actin polymerization by inhibiting Arp2/3 activity and promoting the
formation of linear actin cables by activating formin.
If -catenin is not the tether between VE-cadherin and actin, which junctional
components might be? Afadin may anchor actin to the plasma membrane.
-catenin plays an important role in regulating the behavior of actin, and small
GTPases of the Rho family are recruited and regulated at adherens junctions
through -catenin. Rac and Rho affect the contractility of actomyosin, and Rap1 can
be activated at adherens junctions by PDZ-GEF.
The activity of Rho has to be restricted to maintain junctional stability in the
endothelium, and p120 catenin acts as scaffold. Mutations in any of these three
molecules can cause cerebral cavernous malformation, a vascular abnormality of the
brain.
Millan et al. observed adherens junctions and stress fibers in endothelial cells in
vitro, but in vivo, the arrangement of actin and its molecular regulation by adherens
junctions is very limited and somewhat controversial.
Endothelial adherens junctions are equipped with the molecular components to
regulate actin polymerization and actomyosin contraction, and to withstand the
stress of continuous changes in blood flow.