[Cadherins: structure and signalisation protein of cell-cell junctions. Introduction and conclusions]

Cadherin is a super family of genes, with at least 80 members. These members include classic cadherins, desmogleins, desmocollins, protocadherins, CNRs, Fats, seven-pass transmembrane cadherins and Ret tyrosine kinase. The repeated EC extracellular domains (N-terminal domain) are common to the family members and ensure cell adherence in a calcium dependant mechanism. The cadherins are expressed from amoebae to mammals. The biological complexity of cadherins is expressed at different levels, multigenic family and multiple functions in different tissues leading to use different methodological approaches. All the talks in this session broach in a promising aspect in the field of the basic comprehension of cell adhesion (R. M. Mège), at the molecular level (H. Feracci), physiological homeostasis of gut (S. Thenet), cell lineage (V. Delmas) or cancer transformation (L. Larue).