THE GENES FOR THE CALCIUM-DEPENDENT CELL-ADHESION MOLECULES P-CADHERIN AND E-CADHERIN ARE TANDEMLY ARRANGED IN THE HUMAN GENOME

Cadherins constitute a gene family of Ca2+-dependent cell-cell adhesio n molecules involved in the morphogenesis and maintenance of tissue in tegrity. E- and P-cadherin are members of the cadherin family that are both expressed in epithelial tissues. Here we present the localizatio n of the human P-cadherin gene at 32 kb upstream of the human E-cadher in gene, mapping it to chromosome 16q22.1. Tandem arrangement of two c ell-cell adhesion molecules from the cadherin family has also been rep orted in chicken. This is the first evidence for the direct linkage of two cadherins in mammals. The evolutionary conservation of the tandem arrangement of two genes encoding cell adhesion molecules suggests th at the close proximity of the genes may be important for the regulatio n of the genes. (C) 1994 Academic Press, Inc.