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Updated: Jun 3, 2026

Bead Aggregation Assays for the Characterization of Putative Cell Adhesion Molecules
Published on: October 17, 2014
Cadherin exits the junction by switching its adhesive bond
Soonjin Hong1, Regina B Troyanovsky, Sergey M Troyanovsky
1Department of Dermatology, The Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL 60611, USA.
E-cadherin
Area of Science:
- Cell biology
- Biochemistry
- Structural biology
Background:
- Cell-cell adhesion is vital for tissue development and disease.
- The molecular mechanisms of cell junction plasticity are not fully understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the roles of E-cadherin's strand-swap and X dimer interfaces in adherens junction dynamics.
- To elucidate the molecular principles governing the plasticity of cell-cell adhesion.
Main Methods:
- Photoactivation assays
- Calcium switch experiments
- Coimmunoprecipitation
- Analysis of E-cadherin mutants in A-431 cells
Main Results:
- Inactivating the X dimer interface prevents the removal of catenin-uncoupled E-cadherin mutants from junctions.
- Mutants lacking the strand-swap interface lead to unstable cell junctions.
- E-cadherin transitions from a strand-swap bond (firm adhesion) to an X dimer bond (facilitating removal) during junction remodeling.
Conclusions:
- The strand-swap interaction is crucial for stable cell-cell adhesion.
- A structural transition of E-cadherin's adhesive bond, from strand-swap to X dimer, regulates adherens junction dynamics.
- This transition, influenced by cellular forces and cadherin alignment, is key to junction plasticity.
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