SYG-1 and SYG-2 are multipurpose cell adhesion molecules (CAMs) that have evolved across all major animal taxa to participate in diverse physiological functions, ranging from synapse formation to formation of the kidney filtration barrier. In the crystal structures of several SYG-1 and SYG-2 orthologs and their complexes, we find that SYG-1 orthologs homodimerize through a common, bispecific in...

We have tested the hypothesis that maturation-dependent changes in the cortical plate affect the spatiotemporal growth patterns of developing thalamocortical and corticocortical axonal projections. Given a choice between alternating lanes of embryonic (E18-19) and neonatal (P0-1) rat cortical plate membranes, embryonic (E18-19) thalamic and cortical neurites prefer to extend on neonatal membran...

L1 is a neural recognition molecule that promotes neural developmental and regenerative processes. Posttranslational cleavage of L1 is believed to be important for regulating its function in vivo, but little is known of the proteolytic systems responsible. In this study we present evidence that plasmin can regulate both L1 expression and function. The addition of plasmin to cell lines results i...

The L1 family of CAMs (cell adhesion molecules) has long aroused the interest of researchers, but primarily the extracellular interactions of these proteins have been elucidated. More recently, attention has turned to the intracellular signalling potentiated by transmembrane proteins and the cytoplasmic proteins with which they can interact. The present review brings up to date the current body...

Synapse formation and maintenance crucially underlie brain function in health and disease. Both processes are believed to depend on cell adhesion molecules (CAMs). Many different classes of CAMs localise to synapses, including cadherins, protocadherins, neuroligins, neurexins, integrins, and immunoglobulin adhesion proteins, and further contributions come from the extracellular matrix and its r...

Two-pore domain potassium channels, like KCNK2, are known to play an important role in inflammatory diseases such as multiple sclerosis (MS). Upregulation of cellular adhesion molecules in mouse brain microvascular endothelial cells (MBMECs) of Kcnk2-/- mice resulted in elevated leukocyte trafficking into the central nervous system under inflammatory conditions. The current project aims to gain...

Auto-reactive cells-mediated immune responses are responsible for the current tissue damages during autoimmunity. Accordingly, functional modulation of auto-reactive cells has been a pivotal aim in many of recent studies. In the current study, we investigated the possibility for insertion of regulatory molecules onto auto-reactive cells through exosomal nano-shuttles as a novel approach for phe...

Mechanical cues are sensed and transduced by cell adhesion complexes to regulate diverse cell behaviors. Extracellular matrix (ECM) rigidity sensing by integrin adhesions has been well studied, but rigidity sensing by cadherins during cell adhesion is largely unexplored. Using mechanically tunable polyacrylamide (PA) gels functionalized with the extracellular domain of E-cadherin (Ecad-Fc), we ...

The XT-1-molecule, an adhesion-related differentiation antigen of male mouse germ cells, is a 34 000 Mr glycoprotein with major charge isomer at pI 5.1 and is an integral component of the cell membrane. On large late pachytene spermatocyte, the molecule is present at a concentration of 2.5 X 10(3) molecules micron-2, which approximates HLA/ABC concentration on lymphocytes. By comparing the reac...