STRUCTURAL BASIS OF CELL-CELL ADHESION BY CADHERINS

Crystal structures of the amino-terminal domain of N-cadherin provide a picture at the atomic level of a specific adhesive contact between c ells. A repeated set of dimer interfaces is common to the structure in three lattices. These interactions combine to form a linear zipper of molecules that mirrors the linear structure of the intracellular fila ments with which cadherins associate. This cell-adhesion zipper may pr ovide a mechanism to marshal individual molecular adhesive interaction s into strong bonds between cells.