A cell-cell junction in which: on the cytoplasmic surface of each interacting plasma membrane is a dense plaque composed of a mixture of intracellular anchor proteins; a bundle of keratin intermediate filaments is attached to the surface of each plaque; transmembrane adhesion proteins of the cadherin family bind to the plaques and interact through their extracellular domains to hold the adjacent membranes together by a Ca2+-dependent mechanism.

Desmosomes are intercellular anchoring junctions that anchor intermediate filaments at membrane-associated plaques in adjoining cells. Desmosomes assemble in response to cell-cell contact and raised levels of extracellular calcium. Sensitivity to calcium levels is lost as desmosomes mature.

A type of junction that attaches one cell to its neighbor. One of a number of differentiated regions which occur, for example, where the cytoplasmic membranes of adjacent epithelial cells are closely apposed. It consists of a circular region of each membrane together with associated intracellular microfilaments and an intercellular material which may include, for example, mucopolysaccharides. (From Glick, Glossary of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, 1990; Singleton & Sainsbury, Dictionary of Microbiology and Molecular Biology, 2d ed)