P-Cadherin

Placental (P) Cadherin (PCAD) is a member of the Cadherin family of cell adhesion molecules. Cadherins are calcium-dependent transmembrane proteins, which bind to one another in a homophilic manner. On their cytoplasmic side, they associate with the three catenins, α, β, and γ (plakoglobin) . This association links the cadherin protein to the cytoskeleton. Without association with the catenins, the cadherins are non-adhesive. Cadherins play a role in development, specifically in tissue formation. They may also help to maintain tissue architecture in the adult. P Cadherin is a classical cadherin molecule. Classical cadherins consist of a large extracellular domain which contains DXD and DXNDN repeats responsible for mediating calcium-dependent adhesion, a singlepass transmembrane domain, and a short carboxyterminal cytoplasmic domain responsible for interacting with the catenins. Human P Cadherin is an 829 amino acid (aa) protein with a 26 aa signal sequence and an 803 aa propeptide. The mature protein begins at aa 108 and has a 548 aa extracellular region, a 23 aa transmembrane region, and a 151 aa cytoplasmic region. The human and mouse mature PCAD proteins share 87% homology.