Cadherin-5,thoughmemberofthefamilyofcadherinshasbeenshowntobefunctionallyaswellasstructurallydistinctfromclassicalcadherins(e.g.E-,N-,P-cadherins).Throughitsfunctionandlocationcadherin-5hasbeennamedVE-cadherin.Itsaproteinofarelativemolecularmassofabout130kDa.Thevascularendothelialcadherin(VE-cadherin)geneencodesaCa2+-dependentcelladhesionmoleculerequiredfortheorganizationofinterendothelialjunctions.VE-cadherinmediateshomophilic,calcium-dependentaggregationandcell-to-celladhesion.Inaddition,itdecreasesintercellularpermeABIlitytohigh-molecularweightmoleculesandreducescellmigrationrateacrossawoundedarea.VE-cadherinisatransmembraneprotein,theintracellulardomainhasbeenshowntointeractwithcytoplasmicproteinscalledcateninsthattransmittheadhesionsignaluponthisactivation.SotheVE-cadherinextracellulardomainisenoughforearlystepsofcelladhesionandrecognition.However,interactionofVE-cadherintheCytoskeleton,mediatedthroughthecytoplasmaticdomain,isnecessarytoprovidestrengthandcohesiontothejunction.Theinitiationofendothelialapoptosiscorrelateswithcleavageanddisassemblyofcomponentsofadherensjunctions.TheextracellularportionofthesejunctionsisalteredduringapoptosisbecauseVE-cadherindramaticallydecreasesonthesurfaceofcells.AnextracellularfragmentofVE-cadherincanbedetected.ThissheddingofVE-cadherincanbeblockedbyaninhibitorofmetalloproteinases.Itmaybepartofaconcertedmechanismtodisruptstructuralandsignalingpropertiesofadherensjunctionsandmayactivelyinterruptextracellularsignalsrequiredforendothelialcellsurvival.

Synonyms:Vascularendothelial-cadherin,7B4antigen,CD144