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Desmosomes

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A desmosome is a spot-weld junction, built from cadherin proteins linked to intermediate filaments, that holds adjacent epithelial cells in a sheet.

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A nineteenth-century anatomist examining a skin biopsy under a microscope first named these spot-welds holding epithelial sheets together under strain.

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A desmosome anchors cells mechanically; it does not seal the space between them as a tight junction does.