title: Transient intercellular adhesion: the importance of weak protein-protein interactions.
abstract: Intercellular adhesion is a complex phenomenon central to the development, structure and functioning of all multicellular organisms. Adhesion is mediated by distinct families of cell-adhesion molecules (CAMs), and recent studies have identified key characteristics of CAMs that influence their function. Affinity and kinetic analyses using a novel technique based on surface plasmon resonance have shown that CAM interactions that mediate transient cell adhesion may have surprisingly low affinities and extremely fast dissociation rate constants.
authors.affiliation: MRC Cellular Immunology Unit, Sir William Dunn School of Pathology, University of Oxford, UK.
authors.forename: P A
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: van der Merwe
authors.forename: A N
authors.initials: AN
authors.lastname: Barclay
mesh_terms: D002448:Cell Adhesion; D015815:Cell Adhesion Molecules / Q000502:physiology*; D002450:Cell Communication / Q000502:physiology; D011485:Protein Binding / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D015815:Cell Adhesion Molecules