Membrane Mediated Cooperativity Facilitates Cadherin Clustering in Model Membranes
Abstract
Cadherins are major cell-cell adhesion molecules in vertebrate tissue. They play a vital role in the development and maintenance of multicellular organisms. Cadherins show homophilic as well as heterophilic binding to members of their subfamily with a relatively low 3D binding affinity. In order to establish stable adhesion a combination of trans and cis interactions has been postulated to promote oligomerization and junction formation