title: N-cadherin acts upstream of VE-cadherin in controlling vascular morphogenesis.
abstract: Endothelial cells express two classic cadherins, VE-cadherin and N-cadherin. The importance of VE-cadherin in vascular development is well known; however, the function of N-cadherin in endothelial cells remains poorly understood. Contrary to previous studies, we found that N-cadherin localizes to endothelial cell-cell junctions in addition to its well-known diffusive membrane expression. To investigate the role of N-cadherin in vascular development, N-cadherin was specifically deleted from endothelial cells in mice. Loss of N-cadherin in endothelial cells results in embryonic lethality at mid-gestation due to severe vascular defects. Intriguingly, loss of N-cadherin caused a significant decrease in VE-cadherin and its cytoplasmic binding partner, p120ctn. The down-regulation of both VE-cadherin and p120ctn was confirmed in cultured endothelial cells using small interfering RNA to knockdown N-cadherin. We also show that N-cadherin is important for endothelial cell proliferation and motility. These findings provide a novel paradigm by which N-cadherin regulates angiogenesis, in part, by controlling VE-cadherin expression at the cell membrane.
authors.affiliation: Center for Research on Reproduction and Women's Health, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA.
authors.forename: Yang
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Luo
authors.forename: Glenn L
authors.initials: GL
authors.lastname: Radice
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D015703:Antigens, CD; D015820:Cadherins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D051177:Catenins; D015815:Cell Adhesion Molecules / Q000378:metabolism*; D002462:Cell Membrane / Q000378:metabolism; D002465:Cell Movement / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology; D049109:Cell Proliferation; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D004622:Embryo, Mammalian / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D004730:Endothelium, Vascular / Q000166:cytology / Q000196:embryology / Q000378:metabolism*; D018507:Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology; D051379:Mice; D009024:Morphogenesis / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D010750:Phosphoproteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D034622:RNA Interference; D014471:Umbilical Veins / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism; D000095002:Delta Catenin; D000099152:Cadherin 5
chemical_list: D015703:Antigens, CD; D015820:Cadherins; D051177:Catenins; D015815:Cell Adhesion Molecules; D010750:Phosphoproteins; D000095002:Delta Catenin; D000099152:Cadherin 5; C000722349:Ctnnd1 protein, mouse