Journal
JOURNAL OF CELL BIOLOGY
Volume 195, Issue 7, Pages 1115-1121Publisher
ROCKEFELLER UNIV PRESS
DOI: 10.1083/jcb.201108115
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Funding
- National Science Foundation [ARRA/IOS 0920357]
- Neurosciences Core grant [P30 NS045758]
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During embryonic morphogenesis, adhesion molecules are required for selective cell-cell interactions. The classical cadherins mediate homophilic calcium-dependent cell adhesion and are founding members of the large and diverse cadherin superfamily. The protocadherins are the largest subgroup within this superfamily, yet their participation in calcium-dependent cell adhesion is uncertain. In this paper, we demonstrate a novel mechanism of adhesion, mediated by a complex of Protocadherin-19 (Pcdh19) and N-cadherin (Ncad). Although Pcdh19 alone is only weakly adhesive, the Pcdh19-Ncad complex exhibited robust adhesion in bead aggregation assays, and Pcdh19 appeared to play the dominant role. Adhesion by the Pcdh19-Ncad complex was unaffected by mutations that disrupt Ncad homophilic binding but was inhibited by a mutation in Pcdh19. In addition, the complex exhibited homophilic specificity, as beads coated with Pcdh19-Ncad did not intermix with Ncad- or Pcdh17-Ncad-coated beads. We propose a model in which association of a protocadherin with Ncad acts as a switch, converting between distinct binding specificities.
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