The adhesive binding site of cadherins revisited.
Cadherins are single-pass transmembrane proteins that, through their homophilic specificity, function in selective cell adhesion and sorting. They have a modular structure that includes an ectodomain composed of tandem 'cadherin domains,' which have a beta-sandwich topology similar to that of immunoglobulin domains. Some early experiments suggest that, for the 'classical' cadherins, the adhesive specificity is encoded in the membrane-distal amino-terminal cadherin domain. Here, we review these data, and present new data that supports this idea.
Shan
W S
WS
Brookdale Center for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York University, NY 10029, USA.
Koch
A
A
Murray
J
J
Colman
D R
DR
Shapiro
L
L
D000818:Animals; D001665:Binding Sites; D015820:Cadherins / Q000378:metabolism*; D002448:Cell Adhesion; D002449:Cell Aggregation; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D051379:Mice
D015820:Cadherins