Biologists Uncover Ancient Mechanism of Cell Adhesion

Scientists from the University of Münster have revealed a fascinating evolutionary discovery: the protein talin, long known for its role in animal cell adhesion, also plays a crucial role in single-celled organisms. This finding suggests that the ability of cells to adhere to surfaces—a fundamental property enabling the formation of tissues and organs—originated more than a billion years ago.

Ancient Roots of Cell Adhesion

Animal cells, including human cells, are characterized by their ability to stick firmly to surfaces. This adhesion is mediated by integrins, specialized receptors on the cell surface. However, many single-celled organisms lack integrins, raising the question of how adhesion evolved.

The Münster team, led by Prof. Carsten Grashoff and doctoral researcher Srishti Rangarajan, demonstrated that talin acts as a conserved molecular bridge across evolutionary time. Talin connects integrins to the cell’s interior, ensuring mechanical stability. Their comparative studies showed that talin in amoebae transmits mechanical forces during adhesion in much the same way as in human cells.

Why It Matters

• Evolutionary insight: The discovery indicates that integrin-mediated adhesion in animals is a specialization of a much older mechanism.
• Mechanical function: Even though each talin molecule bears only a few trillionths of a newton, this force transmission is essential for successful adhesion.
• Biomedical relevance: Understanding talin’s ancient role may shed light on how complex tissues evolved and could inform future biomedical research into cell adhesion disorders.

Methods and Findings

The researchers employed molecular genetics, high-resolution fluorescence microscopy, and molecular force microscopy to study talin’s function. Their work shows that while talin has additional roles in human cells not yet observed in amoebae, its essential mechanical role predates the emergence of animals.

As Rangarajan explains:

“The integrin-mediated adhesion of animal cells is described in all modern textbooks on cell biology. However, it appears to be merely a specialization of a much older cell adhesion mechanism that originated in single-celled organisms and is mediated by talin.”

Published Research

The study, “Talin force coupling underlies eukaryotic cell-substrate adhesion”, was published in Nature Communications in December 2025.

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Source: Phys.org – Biologists reveal ancient form of cell adhesion

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