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The adherens junction is an anchoring junction that holds cells together in tissues such as  the epithelium.

Adherens junctions are large multi-protein complexes comprising three main protein classes - the adhesive cadherins, the anchoring actin cytoskeleton, and the linker catenins .

Adherens junction assembly begins with the polymerization of actin monomers near the cell membrane to form protrusions called lamellipodia.

When lamellipodia from neighboring cells are close enough, the cadherins on their surface interact and trigger the localization of more cadherins, forming clusters.

These clusters are stabilized by beta-, alpha-, and p120 catenins, which help recruit more cadherin-catenin complexes to the growing site.

As the contact zone between the two cells expands, the alpha-catenins shift actin polymerization from branched to unbranched, and arrange them parallel to the cell membrane.

These actin filaments then associate with myosin to form contractile bundles, thus forming a mature adherens junction.

The junction links the cytoskeleton of one cell with another, held together via the extracellular interactions of cadherin molecules.