The desmosome-intermediate filament system facilitates mechanotransduction at adherens junctions for epithelial homeostasis

Abstract

Epithelial homeostasis can be critically influenced by how cells respond to mechanical forces, both local changes in force balance between cells and altered tissue-level forces.1 Coupling of specialized cell-cell adhesions to their cytoskeletons provides epithelia with diverse strategies to respond to mechanical stresses.2,3,4 Desmosomes confer tissue resilience when their associated intermediate filaments (IFs)2,3 stiffen in response to strain,5,6,7,8,9,10,11 while mechanotransduction associated with the E-cadherin apparatus12,13 at adherens junctions (AJs) actively modulates actomyosin by RhoA signaling. Although desmosomes and AJs make complementary contributions to mechanical homeostasis in epithelia,6,8 there is increasing evidence to suggest that these cytoskeletal-adhesion systems can interact functionally and biochemically.8,14,15,16,17,18,19,20 We now report that the desmosome-IF system integrated by desmoplakin (DP) facilitates active tension sensing at AJs for epithelial homeostasis. DP function is necessary for mechanosensitive RhoA signaling at AJs to be activated when tension was applied to epithelial monolayers. This effect required DP to anchor IFs to desmosomes and recruit the dystonin (DST) cytolinker to apical junctions. DP RNAi reduced the mechanical load that was applied to the cadherin complex by increased monolayer tension. Consistent with reduced mechanical signal strength, DP RNAi compromised assembly of the Myosin VI-E-cadherin mechanosensor that activates RhoA. The integrated DP-IF system therefore supports AJ mechanotransduction by enhancing the mechanical load of tissue tension that is transmitted to E-cadherin. This crosstalk was necessary for efficient elimination of apoptotic epithelial cells by apical extrusion, demonstrating its contribution to epithelial homeostasis.