Desmosomes are adhesive intercellular junctions that mechanically integrate adjacent cells
by coupling adhesive interactions mediated by desmosomal cadherins to the intermediate
filament cytoskeletal network. Desmosomal cadherins are connected to intermediate
filaments by densely clustered cytoplasmic plaque proteins comprising members of the
armadillo gene family, including plakoglobin and plakophilins, and members of the plakin
family of cytolinkers, such as desmoplakin. The importance of desmosomes in tissue …