Diversity of the cadherin family: evidence for eight new cadherins in nervous tissue.

Abstract

To examine the diversity of the cadherin family, we isolated cDNAs from brain and retina cDNA preparations with the aid of polymerase chain reaction. The products obtained included cDNAs for two of three known cadherins as well as eight distinct cDNAs, of which deduced amino acid sequences show significant similarity with the known cadherin sequences. Larger cDNA clones were isolated from human cDNA libraries for six of the eight new molecules. The deduced amino acid sequences show that the overall structure of these molecules is very similar to that of the known cadherins, indicating that these molecules are new members of the cadherin family. We have tentatively designated these cadherins as cadherin-4 through -11. The new molecules, with the exception of cadherin-4, exhibit features that distinguish them as a group from previously cloned cadherins; they may belong to a new subfamily of cadherins. Northern blot analysis showed that most of these cadherins are expressed mainly in brain, although some are expressed in other tissues as well. These findings show that the cadherin family of adhesion molecules is much larger than previously thought, and suggest that the new cadherins may play an important role in cell-cell interactions within the central nervous system.

N‐cadherin transcripts in Xenopus laevis from early tailbud to tadpole

“…If similar molecular strategies are being used for the segregation of territories of cells in a structure as complex as the CNS, it is not surprising that the highest number of cadherin genes are expressed in this organ. Moreover, the possible multiplicity of N-cadherin pseudo-alleles which we noticed in this work must be reassessed within the wide repertoire of different cadherins which have been recently identified in the rat brain (Suzuki et al, 1991). Our finding that different regions of the CNS express various levels of N-cadherin mRNA could indicate that local modulations of cadherin expression and function in the CNS are participating in the molecular mechanisms of neural morphogenesis, leading to segregation of groups of neurons, definition of neural territories, and stabilization of tracts.…”

The Loss of the Expression of α Catenin, the 102 kD Cadherin Associated Protein, in Central Nervous Tissues during Development

“…In the tissues with a well developed cell-tocell junctional complex, a catenin was highly concentrated at the cell-to-cell AJ, where cadherin molecules act as adhesion molecules (44). a Catenin was expressed not only in tissues expressing already-known cadherins but also in capillary and vein endothelial cells where the subclass of expressing cadherin is not fully identified (38,19,34). Therefore, we are led to speculate that not only in cultured cells but also in tissues (I catenin binds to various subclasses of cadherins.…”

“…However, the cadherins consist of many subclasses (38) and all antibodies specific for each cadherin subclass have not yet been available. Although the pan-cadherin antibodies specific for the highly-conserved cytoplasmic domain of cadherin molecules were reported, their specificity to cadherins and their availability to immunohistochemical analysis are still obscure (8,42).…”

Angiogenesis: The VE-Cadherin Switch

“…In established vessels, transmembrane adhesive proteins located at the cell-cell junction maintain the integrity of the endothelial cell lining. The vascular endothelial (VE)-cadherin, originally called cadherin-5 ( ), is the transmembrane component of the endothelial adherens Suzuki et al 1991 junction and plays a pivotal role in endothelium integrity and in the control of vascular permeability ( ). In this review, Breviario et al 1995 we will focus on the differential functions of this endothelial-specific molecule in quiescent and angiogenic endothelial cells and we will describe recent advances in our knowledge of its regulation between these two states.…”