Epithelium cadherin

Tabibzadeh S, Babaknia A, Kong QF, Zupi E, Marconi D, Romanini C, and Satyaswaroop PG [1995] Menstruation is associated with disordered expression of desmoplakin I/II and cadherin/catenins and conversion of F- to G-actin in endometrial epithelium. Hum Reprod 10 776-784... 

S., Cho, K.R. and Fearon, E.R. (2002) CDX2 regulates liver intestine-cadherin expression in normal and malignant colon epithelium and intestinal metaplasia. Gastroenterology, 123 (5), 1565-1577. 

The active toxin has two main functional entities, responsible for receptor binding and ion channel activity, respectively. The activated toxin binds to receptors, which seem to be of different types, on the midgut microvilli of the susceptible insects. Different toxins seem to bind to different receptor proteins that may be an enzyme such as aminopeptidase or alkaline phosphatase, or a cadherin-like membrane protein. (The cadherins are proteins that are important in keeping the cells together by mediating Ca+-dependent cell-cell adhesion in animal tissue.) The toxins are anchored to the outer epithelial cell membrane in such a way that the membrane is perforated by pores or channels where ions can freely pass. This model proposes that an influx of water, along with ions, results in swelling and lysis. The epithelium is destroyed and the insect rots. 

Cell surface-bound mucins can be involved in cell adhesion and also in the prevention of cell adhesion. For example, mucins participate in the control of cell adhesion mediated by integrin and E-cadherin. Some of these mucins are shed from the cell surface and are found in the bloodstream where they can play a role in the control of the immune system. For example, MUCl from breast cancer cells is shed and can be isolated from the serum. Depending on the nature of the mucins, they can block natural killer cell-mediated cell lysis and the action of cytotoxic lymphocytes. In cancer and other diseases affecting the epithelium, mucin gene expression is often altered. Especially, MUCl mucin is highly expressed on tumorigenic ductal epithelial cells. 

Cadherins are the main receptors for calcium-dependent cell-cell adhesion in most solid tissues (Alberts et al. 2002). Besides being responsible for the mechanical stability, they coordinate the integration of cells in functional structures like the epithelium and control cell movement in tissue development and organization, especially during embryogenesis (Table 5.3). Classical cadherins are transmembrane glycoproteins, which bind almost exclusively to the same type of receptor expressed on the other cell in a homophilic manner (Fig. 5.2). The intracellular domain is connected to the cytoskeleton via a group of anchor proteins known as catenins (Pettitt 2005 Reynolds 2007). This link-... 

Tobey, N. A. Orlando, R. C. Cadherin-binding assay for identifying compounds which may protect stratified squamous epithelium against damage by noxious substances. PCT hit. Appl. WO 2002010767,2002 Chem. Abstr. 2002,136,145195. 

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