Cadherins in development and cancer

Proper embryonic development is guaranteed under conditions of regulated cell-cell and cell-matrix adhesion. The cells of an embryo have to be able to distinguish their neighbours as being alike or different. Cadherins, single-pass transmembrane, Ca(2+)-dependent adhesion molecules that mainly inter...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Molecular bioSystems 2008-01, Vol.4 (8), p.835-850
Main Author: Stemmler, Marc P
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animals
Cadherins - chemistry
Cadherins - genetics
Cadherins - metabolism
Catenins - metabolism
Embryonic Development
Humans
Models, Biological
Monomeric GTP-Binding Proteins - metabolism
Neoplasm Invasiveness
Neoplasms - metabolism
Protein Processing, Post-Translational
Receptor Protein-Tyrosine Kinases - metabolism
Signal Transduction
Structure-Activity Relationship
Transcription, Genetic
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Summary:Proper embryonic development is guaranteed under conditions of regulated cell-cell and cell-matrix adhesion. The cells of an embryo have to be able to distinguish their neighbours as being alike or different. Cadherins, single-pass transmembrane, Ca(2+)-dependent adhesion molecules that mainly interact in a homophilic manner, are major contributors to cell-cell adhesion. Cadherins play pivotal roles in important morphogenetic and differentiation processes during development, and in maintaining tissue integrity and homeostasis. Changes in cadherin expression throughout development enable differentiation and the formation of various organs. In addition to these functions, cadherins have strong implications in tumourigenesis, since frequently tumour cells show deregulated cadherin expression and inappropriate switching among family members. In this review, I focus on E- and N-cadherin, giving an overview of their structure, cellular function, importance during development, role in cancer, and of the complexity of Ecadherin gene regulation.
ISSN:1742-206X
1742-2051
DOI:10.1039/b719215k