Journal
DEVELOPMENT GROWTH & DIFFERENTIATION
Volume 50, Issue -, Pages S119-S130Publisher
WILEY
DOI: 10.1111/j.1440-169X.2008.01002.x
Keywords
cadherin; catenin; neuron; nervous system; synapse
Categories
Ask authors/readers for more resources
Classic cadherins represent a family of calcium-dependent homophilic cell-cell adhesion molecules. They confer strong adhesiveness to animal cells when they are anchored to the actin cytoskeleton via their cytoplasmic binding partners, catenins. The cadherin/catenin adhesion system plays key roles in the morphogenesis and function of the vertebrate and invertebrate nervous systems. In early vertebrate development, cadherins are involved in multiple events of brain morphogenesis including the formation and maintenance of the neuroepithelium, neurite extension and migration of neuronal cells. In the invertebrate nervous system, classic cadherin-mediated cell-cell interaction plays important roles in wiring among neurons. For synaptogenesis, the cadherin/catenin system not only stabilizes cell-cell contacts at excitatory synapses but also assembles synaptic molecules at synaptic sites. Furthermore, this system is involved in synaptic plasticity. Recent studies on the role of individual cadherin subtypes at synapses indicate that individual cadherin subtypes play their own unique role to regulate synaptic activities.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available