One of the so-called cell adhesion molecules (CAMs), they are a family of functionally related cell surface glycoproteins (Ca2+-dependent CAMs), first identified in vertebrates, that play a role in differential calcium-dependent cell-to-cell adhesion. Attached to the cytoskeleton of a cell, they can occur transiently or permanently on the cell bodies of most vertebrate species at some point in their differentiation. They are divided into sub-classes E-, P-, and N-cadherins, each of which has a distinct immunological specificity and tissue distribution. These compounds have an important function in the construction of tissues and in morphogenesis more generally.
See Adhesion molecules, Cell adhesion molecules (CAMs), Cytoskeleton, Glycoproteins, Integrins, Morphogenesis, Mucins, Selectins