How do adherens junctions form adhesion belts around epithelial cells?
A.
At an adherens junction, each cadherin molecule is tethered inside its cell, via several linker proteins, to actin filaments.
B.
Often, the adherens junctions form a continuous adhesion belt around each of the interacting epithelial cells; this belt is located near the apical end of the cell, just below the tight junctions.
C.
Bundles of actin filaments are thus connected from cell to cell across the epithelium.
D.
This network of actin filaments also contains myosin filaments and can thus contract, giving the epithelial sheet the capacity to develop tension and to change its shape in remarkable ways.