Truong Quang, B.A., Mani, M., Markova, O., Lecuit, T., Lenne, P.F. (2013). Principles of e-cadherin supramolecular organization in vivo.  Curr. Biol. 23(22): 2197--2207.

FBrf0223401

Research paper

E-cadherin plays a pivotal role in tissue morphogenesis by forming clusters that support intercellular adhesion and transmit tension. What controls E-cadherin mesoscopic organization in clusters is unclear.We use 3D superresolution quantitative microscopy in Drosophila embryos to characterize the size distribution of E-cadherin nanometric clusters. The cluster size follows power-law distributions over three orders of magnitude with exponential decay at large cluster sizes. By exploring the predictions of a general theoretical framework including cluster fusion and fission events and recycling of E-cadherin, we identify two distinct active mechanisms setting the cluster-size distribution. Dynamin-dependent endocytosis targets large clusters only, thereby imposing a cutoff size. Moreover, interactions between E-cadherin clusters and actin filaments control the fission in a size-dependent manner.E-cadherin clustering depends on key cortical regulators, which provide tunable and local control over E-cadherin organization. Our data provide the foundation for a quantitative understanding of how E-cadherin distribution affects adhesion and might regulate force transmission in vivo.