William Weis - F1000 Section Head (since 06 August 2003)
Department of Structural Biology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA
BIOGRAPHY
Current Research InterestsCadherin-based adhesion
Several distinct intercellular junctions connect epithelial cells. Two of these, the adherens junction and the desmosome, contain cadherin cell adhesion molecules. The extracellular regions of these transmembrane proteins mediate intercellular binding, while their cytoplasmic domains are linked to the actin- (adherens junction) or intermediate filament- (desmosome) based cytoskeletons. In this way the cytoskeletons of cells comprising a tissue are linked, imparting particular morphologies and mechanical strength to the tissue. The dynamics of these complex assemblies underlie changes in cell and tissue architecture that occur during development and in many cancers. Our research aims to understand the 3-dimensional architecture and dynamics of these junctions.