Desmosomes are best described as structures that

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Desmosomes provide strong cell–cell adhesion by linking intermediate filaments of neighboring cells. In epithelial cells, desmosomal cadherins (desmogleins and desmocollins) span the membranes and connect to plaque proteins such as desmoplakin and plakoglobin, which in turn bind to keratin intermediate filaments inside the cell. This arrangement distributes mechanical stress across cells, giving tissues like skin and heart their resilience. They are not channels for electrical coupling (that’s gap junctions) and they don’t primarily anchor actin filaments (that role belongs to adherens junctions). Hence, anchoring intermediate filaments to the cytoskeleton is the best description.