Wheelock Margaret J, Johnson Keith R
Department of Oral Biology, College of Dentistry and Eppley Cancer Center, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, Nebraska 68198-7696, USA.
Annu Rev Cell Dev Biol. 2003;19:207-35. doi: 10.1146/annurev.cellbio.19.011102.111135.
Cadherins are transmembrane glycoproteins that mediate calcium-dependent cell-cell adhesion. The cadherin family is large and diverse, and proteins are considered to be members of this family if they have one or more cadherin repeats in their extracellular domain. Cadherin family members are the transmembrane components of a number of cellular junctions, including adherens junctions, desmosomes, cardiac junctions, endothelial junctions, and synaptic junctions. Cadherin function is critical in normal development, and alterations in cadherin function have been implicated in tumorigenesis. The strength of cadherin interactions can be regulated by a number of proteins, including the catenins, which serve to link the cadherin to the cytoskeleton. Cadherins have been implicated in a number of signaling pathways that regulate cellular behavior, and it is becoming increasingly clear that integration of information received from cell-cell signaling, cell-matrix signaling, and growth factor signaling determines ultimate cellular phenotype and behavior.
钙黏蛋白是介导钙依赖性细胞间黏附的跨膜糖蛋白。钙黏蛋白家族庞大且多样，如果蛋白质在其细胞外结构域中有一个或多个钙黏蛋白重复序列，那么它们就被认为是该家族的成员。钙黏蛋白家族成员是许多细胞连接的跨膜成分，包括黏着连接、桥粒、心脏连接、内皮连接和突触连接。钙黏蛋白功能在正常发育中至关重要，并且钙黏蛋白功能的改变与肿瘤发生有关。钙黏蛋白相互作用的强度可由多种蛋白质调节，包括连环蛋白，其作用是将钙黏蛋白与细胞骨架连接起来。钙黏蛋白参与了许多调节细胞行为的信号通路，并且越来越清楚的是，整合从细胞间信号、细胞-基质信号和生长因子信号接收到的信息决定了最终的细胞表型和行为。
