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Neural cadherin: role in selective cell-cell adhesion
S Miyatani1, K Shimamura, M Hatta
1Department of Biophysics, Faculty of Science, Kyoto University, Japan.
Science (New York, N.Y.)
|August 11, 1989
Summary
Mouse neural cadherin (N-cadherin) was cloned and studied for its cell binding properties. This research found that N-cadherin specificity is conserved between mammals and birds, highlighting distinct adhesive roles for cadherin types.
Area of Science:
- Molecular Biology
- Cell Biology
- Biochemistry
Background:
- Cadherins are calcium-dependent cell adhesion molecules crucial for tissue structure.
- Understanding cadherin function requires characterizing their specific binding properties.
Purpose of the Study:
- To clone complementary DNAs encoding mouse neural cadherin (N-cadherin).
- To examine the cell binding specificity of mouse N-cadherin.
Main Methods:
- Complementary DNA cloning of mouse N-cadherin.
- Cell binding assays to determine cross-reactivity.
Main Results:
- Mouse N-cadherin shares high sequence similarity (92%) with its chicken homolog.
- Mouse N-cadherin exhibits distinct binding specificity, not cross-reacting with other mouse cadherins.
- Mouse N-cadherin cross-reacts with chicken N-cadherin, indicating conserved specificity.
Conclusions:
- Each cadherin type confers unique adhesive specificities to cells.
- The adhesive specificity of N-cadherin is conserved across mammalian and avian species.