簡要描述：The cadherins represent a family of Ca2+-dependent adhesion molecules that function to mediate cell to cell binding that is critical for the maintenance of structure and morphogenesis. Cadherins each contain a large extracellular domain at the N-terminus, which is characterized by a series of five homologous repeats, the most distal of which is thought to be responsible for binding specificity. The relatively short C-terminal intracellular domain interacts with a variety of cytoplasmic protein