The α-Cat M region is required for epithelial integrity during embryogenesis. (A and B) Model of α-Cat under no/low and high tension, including proposed interaction partners Jub, Vinc, and Afadin/Cno that associate with α-Cat after force-induced release of autoinhibition. See text for further discussion. (C) Quantification of cuticle defects of embryos expressing α-CatR or α-Cat deletion constructs in an α-Cat-RNAi background. Number of embryos analyzed = n. (D) Representative cuticle images of embryos of the indicated genotypes. False color shading of cuticle in blue and denticle belts in yellow. Pink arrowheads point to abdominal denticle belts that were used for quantification in C. Scale bar, 100 μm. wt, wild-type.