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Myofibroblast adherens junctions. Adherens junctions (AJs) physically couple adjacent cells via transmembrane cadherins, which are intracellularly linked to actin filaments through a complex of cytosolic proteins comprising α-, β-, and γ-catenin. Whereas normal fibroblasts generally do not develop AJs in vivo, their differentiation into contractile myofibroblasts during wound healing and fibrosis is accompanied by the de novo formation of AJs. Here, rat subcutaneous fibroblasts were modulated into differentiated myofibroblasts by culturing them in the presence of transforming growth factor beta in mechanically loaded 3-dimensional collagen gels. Myofibroblast differentiation is hallmarked by the expression of α-smooth muscle actin (green) in stress fibers (phalloidin, blue), which are coupled at sites of β-catenin-posititive AJs (red). —Boris Hinz