Fig. 4.

The complete desmosome structure. The drawing combines the complete knowledge of the interactions of the various desmosomal components on the basis of the cryo-ET data. The interactions of both plaque components and the extracellular cadherins (16) are visualized in the map. Two molecular layers representing five to six unit cells in the extracellular and intracellular parts are shown. The plakoglobin molecules are depicted in green, the desmoplakin in light blue, plakophilins in purple, and the desmosomal cadherins (Dsg and Dsc) in two shades of red. The periodicity of the extracellular layer matches the periodicity of the plaque components remarkably well, suggesting that they are connected by their flexible cytoplasmic tails to the plakoglobin molecules.