Statements in which the resource exists as a subject.
PredicateObject
rdf:type
lifeskim:mentions
pubmed:issue
53
pubmed:dateCreated
2004-12-23
pubmed:abstractText
N-cadherin comprises five homologous extracellular domains, a transmembrane, and a cytoplasmic domain. The extracellular domains of N-cadherin play important roles in homophilic cell adhesion, but the contribution of each domain to this phenomenon has not been fully evaluated. In particular, the following questions remain unanswered: what is the minimal domain combination that can generate cell adhesion, how is domain organization related to adhesive strength, and does the cytoplasmic domain serve to facilitate extracellular domain interaction? To address these issues, we made serial constructs of the extracellular domains of N-cadherin and produced various cell lines to examine adhesion properties. We show that the first domain of N-cadherin alone on the cell surface fails to generate adhesive activity and that the first two domains of N-cadherin form the "minimal essential unit" to mediate cell adhesion. Cell lines expressing longer extracellular domains or N-cadherin wild type cells formed larger cellular aggregates than those expressing shorter aggregates. However, adhesion strength, as measured by a shearing test, did not reveal any differences among these aggregative cell lines, suggesting that the first two domains of N-cadherin cells generate the same strength of adhesive activity as longer extracellular domain cells. Furthermore, truncations of the first two domains of N-cadherin are also sufficient to form cisdimerization at an adhesive junction. Our findings suggest that the extracellular domains of N-cadherin have distinct roles in cell adhesion, i.e. the first two domains are responsible for homophilic adhesion activity, and the other domains promote adhesion efficiency most likely by positioning essential domains relatively far out from the cell surface.
pubmed:grant
pubmed:language
eng
pubmed:journal
pubmed:citationSubset
IM
pubmed:chemical
pubmed:status
MEDLINE
pubmed:month
Dec
pubmed:issn
0021-9258
pubmed:author
pubmed:issnType
Print
pubmed:day
31
pubmed:volume
279
pubmed:owner
NLM
pubmed:authorsComplete
Y
pubmed:pagination
55914-23
pubmed:dateRevised
2009-2-17
pubmed:meshHeading
pubmed-meshheading:15485826-Animals, pubmed-meshheading:15485826-Cadherins, pubmed-meshheading:15485826-Cell Adhesion, pubmed-meshheading:15485826-Cell Membrane, pubmed-meshheading:15485826-Cells, Cultured, pubmed-meshheading:15485826-Centrifugation, pubmed-meshheading:15485826-Crystallography, X-Ray, pubmed-meshheading:15485826-DNA, Complementary, pubmed-meshheading:15485826-Dimerization, pubmed-meshheading:15485826-Green Fluorescent Proteins, pubmed-meshheading:15485826-Immunoblotting, pubmed-meshheading:15485826-Immunohistochemistry, pubmed-meshheading:15485826-Immunoprecipitation, pubmed-meshheading:15485826-Models, Biological, pubmed-meshheading:15485826-Protein Binding, pubmed-meshheading:15485826-Protein Structure, Tertiary, pubmed-meshheading:15485826-Rats, pubmed-meshheading:15485826-Recombinant Fusion Proteins, pubmed-meshheading:15485826-Time Factors, pubmed-meshheading:15485826-Transfection
pubmed:year
2004
pubmed:articleTitle
The minimal essential unit for cadherin-mediated intercellular adhesion comprises extracellular domains 1 and 2.
pubmed:affiliation
Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University, 3801 University Street, Montreal, Quebec H3A 2B4, Canada. weisong.shan@mcgill.ca
pubmed:publicationType
Journal Article, Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.