How skin cells protect themselves against stress
(PHYSorg.com Biology)

The skin is our largest organ, and, among other things, it provides protection against mechanical impacts. To ensure this protection, skin cells have to be connected to one another especially closely. Exactly how this mechanical stability is provided at the molecular level was unclear for a long time. Researchers led by Prof. Carsten Grashoff from the Institute of Molecular Cell Biology at the University of Münster and the Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry have collaborated with colleagues at Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich and Stanford University, and now demonstrate how mechanical stress on specialized adhesion points, so-called desmosomes, is processed. They designed a mini-measuring device that can determine forces along individual components of the desmosomes. In the study, published in Nature Communications, they show how mechanical forces propagate along these structures.