The application of tension across the Adherence junction

It causes signalling molecules to be recruited to the intracellular domain of the E-cadherin receptor. In particular, biophysical experiments indicate that a-catenin undergoes a tension-dependent conformational change which triggers recruitment and activation of the RhoA - Rho kinase (ROCK) - Myosin II pathway leading to contraction of the stress fibres of the adherence belt and, in doing so, resists tension across the AJ. Notably, b-catenin can also bind a transcription factor (YAP1) in the nucleus to cause changes in gene expression when cell adhesion is lost.