VE-cadherin in vascular development: a coordinator of cell signaling and tissue morphogenesis

Blood and lymphatic vessels make up the vascular system of vertebrates and are lined by specialized endothelial cells. The connections between endothelial cells are formed by adhesion molecules and are essential to maintain cell-cell adhesion, cell-cell communication, and the integrity of our vascular tubes. One key adhesion molecule is the adherens junctional protein vascular endothelial cadherin (VE-cadherin). In addition to its role in endothelial adhesion, it is emerging that this protein is actively involved in modulating key cellular signaling cascades within endothelial cells and can control the behavior of endothelial cells during development and morphogenesis. We describe key studies that highlight VE-cadherin as a regulatory hub in endothelial cell signaling during angiogenesis, vessel morphogenesis, and vascular development.