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The cadherins: cell-cell adhesion molecules controlling animal morphogenesis
1Department of Biophysics, Faculty of Science, Kyoto University, Japan.
Development (Cambridge, England)
|April 1, 1988
Summary
Cadherins are crucial glycoproteins for cell-cell adhesion, maintaining tissue structure. Their subclasses exhibit specific binding, essential for development and morphogenesis.
Area of Science:
- Cell Biology
- Developmental Biology
- Molecular Biology
Background:
- Cadherins are glycoproteins mediating calcium-dependent cell-cell adhesion in most tissues.
- Inhibition of cadherin activity causes cell layer dissociation, highlighting their role in multicellular structure.
- Cadherin subclasses (E-, N-, P-cadherins) share similarities but have unique tissue distribution and specificity.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the role of cadherins in cell-cell adhesion and tissue formation.
- To provide direct evidence for cadherins' function in cell aggregation and morphology.
- To explore the involvement of cadherins in developmental morphogenetic events.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of amino acid sequences from cDNA encoding cadherins.
- Transfection of L cells with cadherin cDNA to assess aggregation activity.
- Observation of colony morphology changes upon ectopic cadherin expression.
Main Results:
- Cadherins are integral membrane proteins (723-748 amino acids) with 50-60% sequence similarity between subclasses.
- Transfected L cells exhibited high cadherin-mediated aggregation activity and altered colony morphology.
- Cadherin subclasses show specific binding properties and are involved in selective cell adhesion.
Conclusions:
- Cadherins are essential for maintaining multicellular structures and play a key role in cell-cell adhesion.
- Spatiotemporal regulation of cadherin expression is critical for morphogenetic events during development.
- Cadherins are fundamental to tissue construction and the overall development of an organism.