title: Three functions of cadherins in cell adhesion.
abstract: Cadherins are transmembrane proteins that mediate cell-cell adhesion in animals. By regulating contact formation and stability, cadherins play a crucial role in tissue morphogenesis and homeostasis. Here, we review the three major functions of cadherins in cell-cell contact formation and stability. Two of those functions lead to a decrease in interfacial tension at the forming cell-cell contact, thereby promoting contact expansion--first, by providing adhesion tension that lowers interfacial tension at the cell-cell contact, and second, by signaling to the actomyosin cytoskeleton in order to reduce cortex tension and thus interfacial tension at the contact. The third function of cadherins in cell-cell contact formation is to stabilize the contact by resisting mechanical forces that pull on the contact.
authors.affiliation: EMBL, Meyerhofstraße 1, 69117 Heidelberg, Germany. maitre@embl.de
authors.forename: Jean-Léon
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Maître
authors.forename: Carl-Philipp
authors.initials: CP
authors.lastname: Heisenberg
mesh_terms: D000205:Actomyosin / Q000378:metabolism*; D000818:Animals; D015820:Cadherins / Q000378:metabolism*; D002448:Cell Adhesion; D003599:Cytoskeleton / Q000378:metabolism*; D055595:Mechanical Phenomena; D009024:Morphogenesis; D015398:Signal Transduction
chemical_list: D015820:Cadherins; D000205:Actomyosin