Cell adhesion molecules

BMJ 1999;319:332-334 ( 7 August )

Editorials

Cell adhesion molecules

Sticky moments in the clinic

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

Cell adhesion molecules were first identified through their ability to allow cells to adhere to each other and to the extracellularmatrix. We now know, however, that this group of cell surfacereceptors not only promotes adhesion but also allows cells tointeract and communicate with each other and their environmentand, in doing so, regulates a range of cell functions, includingproliferation, gene expression, differentiation, apoptosis, andmigration. A theme issue of Molecular Pathology, published thismonth, provides an opportunity to review work on cell adhesion,including its application to clinicalpractice.

There are at least five groups of cell adhesion molecules: integrins, selectins, adhesion molecules belonging to the immunoglobulinsuperfamily, cadherins, and the CD44 family. All cell adhesionmolecules bind to other cells or matrix components through theirinteraction with appropriate counter-structures, referred to asa ligands. In some cases the ligands are themselves adhesion molecules,as . . . [Full text of this article]