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Related Concept Videos

Cadherins in Tissue Organization01:19

Cadherins in Tissue Organization

The cadherins are a superfamily of cell adhesion molecules comprising over 180 variants, with specific tissues expressing a particular combination of cadherin types. Cadherins generally exhibit homophilic binding; i.e., cadherins on one cell bind to cadherins of the same or closely related type on another cell. Thus, cells of the same type have a specific affinity to bind to each other and sort themselves into clusters to form tissues.
Cell Sorting During Development
Cell sorting plays an...
Structure of Cadherins01:25

Structure of Cadherins

The cadherins were one of the first cell adhesion molecules discovered; the term “cadherins”   is based on their calcium-dependent adhering properties. The first cadherins discovered on the epithelial, neuronal, and placental cells were named E-cadherin, P-cadherin, and N-cadherin, respectively. These classical cadherins share sequence and structural similarities. Other cadherins, including those involved in cell signaling, are grouped into non-classical cadherins. This diversity of cadherins...
Adherens Junctions01:24

Adherens Junctions

Strong contact points between adjacent cells anchor them to each other, forming tissues. Such anchoring junctions are of two types –  adherens junctions and desmosomes. Adherens junctions are abundant in tissues such as  epithelium and endothelium, forming a continuous zone of adhesion called the adhesion belt. In other tissues, such as  heart muscle, they appear as clusters, linking the cells to produce coordinated heart muscle contraction.
Adherens Junctions are Dynamic
The endothelial cells...
Catenins01:23

Catenins

Catenins are characterized by multiple binding domains and dynamic structures that allow them to function as linker proteins in cell junction complexes. All catenins, except α-catenin, contain a characteristic protein sequence called the armadillo repeat and are therefore also called armadillo proteins.
Catenins in Cell Junctions
Catenins bind to cell adhesion molecules such as cadherins and link them to different cytoskeletal proteins depending on the type of cell junction. At the adherens...
Tension Response at Adherens Junctions01:26

Tension Response at Adherens Junctions

The adherens junctions that anchor cells together are multi-protein complexes that dynamically adapt to mechanical stimuli such as tensile forces and shear stress. Mechanosensory proteins in these junctions can sense such mechanical stimuli and undergo a shift in their conformation, resulting in an altered function — a process called mechanotransduction.
α-Catenin as a Mechanosensory Protein
The α-catenin of adherens junctions is an allosteric protein with three VH (vinculin homology) domains...
Immunoglobulin-like Cell Adhesion Molecules01:31

Immunoglobulin-like Cell Adhesion Molecules

Immunoglobulin-like cell adhesion molecules or Ig-CAMs are a versatile group of cell surface glycoproteins belonging to the immunoglobulin protein superfamily. Ig-CAMs possess the characteristic immunoglobulin protein domains and other domains such as the fibronectin type III domain. The Ig domains are glycosylated to varying degrees in different Ig-CAMs.
Ig-CAMs exhibit either homophilic binding (to other Ig-CAMs) or heterophilic binding (to other ligands such as integrins). While most Ig-CAMs...

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 20, 2026

Bead Aggregation Assays for the Characterization of Putative Cell Adhesion Molecules
08:15

Bead Aggregation Assays for the Characterization of Putative Cell Adhesion Molecules

Published on: October 17, 2014

Cadherin recognition and adhesion.

Deborah Leckband1, Sanjeevi Sivasankar

  • 1Department of Chemistry, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801, United States. leckband@illinois.edu

Current Opinion in Cell Biology
|July 10, 2012
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Classical cadherins are vital for cell adhesion and tissue development. Recent studies reconcile diverse experimental data, offering new insights into cadherin binding mechanisms for a comprehensive interaction model.

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Last Updated: May 20, 2026

Bead Aggregation Assays for the Characterization of Putative Cell Adhesion Molecules
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Bead Aggregation Assays for the Characterization of Putative Cell Adhesion Molecules

Published on: October 17, 2014

Static Adhesion Assay for the Study of Integrin Activation in T Lymphocytes
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Differentiation of Mouse Breast Epithelial HC11 and EpH4 Cells
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Area of Science:

  • Cell Biology
  • Biophysics
  • Structural Biology

Background:

  • Classical cadherins mediate cell-cell adhesion, crucial for tissue homeostasis and morphogenesis.
  • Subtype-specific cadherin adhesion differences underpin their diverse cellular functions.
  • Previous studies on cadherin binding mechanisms yielded conflicting interpretations.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To review recent structural and biophysical findings on classical cadherin interactions.
  • To reconcile diverse experimental data regarding cadherin binding mechanisms.
  • To identify challenges in developing a comprehensive cadherin interaction model.

Main Methods:

  • Structural biology approaches to determine cadherin structures.
  • Biophysical techniques to analyze cadherin bond properties.
  • Computational simulations to model cadherin binding dynamics.

Main Results:

  • Recent structural and biophysical data provide new insights into classical cadherin binding.
  • Emerging evidence increasingly reconciles previously conflicting experimental findings.
  • Computer simulations aid in understanding the molecular basis of cadherin adhesion.

Conclusions:

  • A unified model of classical cadherin interactions is emerging from recent research.
  • Consistencies across diverse studies are highlighted, alongside remaining challenges.
  • Further integration of structural, biophysical, and computational data is needed for a complete model.