Adarsh
Last Activity: 8 Years ago
Cadherins, integrins and selectins are calcium-dependent adhesion molecules.
Cadherins
They are transmembrane proteins, with five heavily glycosylated external domains. They are being the primary cause for strong general intercellular adhesion, and they are also being the components of some specialized adhesive contacts, and are attached by linker proteins at their cytoplasmic ends to the
underlying cytoskeletal fibres . Different cell types possess different members of the
cadherin family, e.g. E-cadherins in epithelia, P-cadherins in the placenta, and N-cadherins in nervous tissue.
Integrins
They are glycoproteins which mainly mediate adhesion between cells and extracellular matrix components such as collagen, laminin, fibronectin. They integrate interactions between the matrix and the cell cytoskeleton to which they are linked, and so facilitate cell migration within the matrix. An integrin molecule is formed of two subunits (α and β).
Selectins
They are transmembrane lectin glycoproteins that can bind with low affinity to the carbohydrate groups on other cell surfaces to permit movement between the two, e.g. the rolling adhesion of leukocytes on the walls of blood vessels . They function cooperatively in sequence with integrins, which strengthen the selectin adhesion.They are found on WBCs, platelets and vascular endothelial cells.
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