Recent progress in T-cadherin (CDH13, H-cadherin) research

Abstract

T-cadherin is a un ique cadherin ce ll ad hesion molecul e that is anchored to the ce ll surface membrane th rough a glycosy l phosphat id yl inositol (G PI) moiety. The cy topl asmic domain , whi ch T-cad herin lacks. is be li eved to bc criti ca l fo r homophilic binding th ro ugh int erac ti on with subm cmbran e cy tos ke letal protc in s. Docs this mea n th at T- ca dh e rin is an un imp ortanl molec ul e? Howcvc r, th e T-cadherin amino ac id moti f has bee n we ll co nse rve d thro ug h evo luti o n in ve rt ebr ates, s uggestin g th a t T-c adh e rin may have biologica l signifi ca nce in higher animals. Co nsistent wi th this hypothesis, recent studies have thrown light on the re levance of T-cadh erin in the fie lds of oncology, neurology, respirology and ca rdiovascular ph ysiology. In this manu sc ript , we rev iew current adva nces in Tcad herin research.