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Updated: May 9, 2026

Bead Aggregation Assays for the Characterization of Putative Cell Adhesion Molecules
Published on: October 17, 2014
Design of a photoswitchable cadherin
Ryan S Ritterson1, Kristopher M Kuchenbecker, Michael Michalik
1Graduate Group in Biophysics, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, California 94158, USA. ryan.ritterson@cal.berkeley.edu
Abstract:
There is a growing interest in engineering proteins whose function can be controlled with the spatial and temporal precision of light. Here, we present a novel example of a functional light-triggered switch in the Ca-dependent cell-cell adhesion protein E-cadherin, created using a mechanism-based design strategy. We report an 18-fold change in apparent Ca(2+) binding affinity upon illumination. Our results include a detailed examination of functional switching via linked changes in Ca(2+) binding and cadherin dimerization. This design opens avenues toward controllable tools that could be applied to many long-standing questions about cadherin's biological function in cell-cell adhesion and downstream signaling.
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