kadherins

Cadherins are a class of type-I transmembrane proteins that play a crucial role in cell adhesion, a process by which cells interact and bind with each other. They are named for their calcium-dependent adhesion properties, as calcium ions are essential for their proper functioning. Cadherins are found in all animal cells and are vital for the development and maintenance of tissues and organs.

The cadherin family includes several subtypes, such as E-cadherin, N-cadherin, P-cadherin, and VE-cadherin, each with specific roles and expression patterns. E-cadherin, for instance, is predominantly found in epithelial cells and is essential for the formation and maintenance of adherens junctions, which are critical for the structural integrity of epithelial tissues. N-cadherin is often found in neural and mesenchymal cells, while VE-cadherin is specifically expressed in endothelial cells and is important for vascular integrity.

Cadherins have a characteristic structure, consisting of an extracellular domain that mediates cell-cell adhesion, a transmembrane domain that anchors the protein to the cell membrane, and a cytoplasmic domain that interacts with the cytoskeleton and other intracellular proteins. The extracellular domain contains cadherin repeats, which are responsible for the calcium-dependent homophilic binding between cadherins on adjacent cells.

Dysregulation of cadherin function has been implicated in various diseases, including cancer. Loss of E-cadherin expression, for example, is often associated with epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), a process by which epithelial cells gain mesenchymal properties and become more invasive and metastatic. Understanding the role of cadherins in health and disease is an active area of research in cell biology and medicine.