The dystroglycan: Nestled in an adhesome during embryonic development

Invertebrate and vertebrate development relies on complex processes that require many coordinated cell functions including cell adhesion, migration, proliferation and polarization. These processes depend on tissues and are spatio-temporally regulated by specific interactions between cells and between cells and the extracellular matrices. The dystroglycan, a transmembrane receptor that binds multiple extracellular matrix proteins, is expressed from oogenesis to organogenesis. There are increasing data suggesting that the axis, consisting of extracellular component–dystroglycan–cytoplasmic proteins, controls both the adhesion of cells to matrices as well as the transduction of signals coming from or directed to matrices. In this article, we review current advances leading to consider that the dystroglycan is a key protein nestled in an adhesome involved in mechanisms of cell adhesion during embryonic development. •Embryonic development broadly depends on interactions between cells and extracellular matrices.•The dystroglycan is expressed from oogenesis to organogenesis.•The dystroglycan binds multiple extracellular matrix proteins.•It is proposed that dystroglycan is an adhesome for cell–matrix interactions during development.