Which type of cell junction does NOT connect cell to cell and therefore does not provide structural support?

• A. Gap junctions
• B. Zonula occludens
• C. Hemidesmosomes
• D. Zonula adherens

Answer: (C)

The big idea here is distinguishing cell-to-cell junctions from cell-to-matrix attachments. Hemidesmosomes are the structures that anchor an epithelial cell to the basement membrane, not to neighboring cells. They link the cell’s internal cytoskeleton to extracellular matrix components via integrins and related proteins, acting as a half-desmosome at the bottom of the cell. Because they connect to the extracellular matrix rather than to another cell, they don’t provide intercellular structural support.

In contrast, the other junctions involve neighboring cells. Gap junctions create direct cytoplasmic channels between adjacent cells for small molecule exchange. Tight junctions (zonula occludens) seal the space between cells at the apical surface to regulate paracellular flow, and adherens junctions (zonula adherens) connect cells through cadherin–catenin complexes linked to actin, giving mechanical cohesion between cells.

So the junction that does not connect cell to cell and therefore does not provide intercellular structural support is the one anchoring to the basement membrane.