Nectins are Ca(2+)-independent immunoglobulin-like cell-cell adhesion molecules which constitute a family of four members. Nectins homophilically and heterophilically trans-interact and cause cell-cell adhesion. This nectin-based cell-cell adhesion plays roles in the organization of adherens junctions in epithelial cells and fibroblasts and synaptic junctions in neurons in cooperation with cadherins. The nectin-based cell-cell adhesion plays roles in the contacts between commissural axons and floor plate cells and in the organization of Sertoli cell-spermatid junctions in the testis, independently of cadherins. Nectins furthermore regulate intracellular signaling through Cdc42 and Rac small G proteins and cell polarization through cell polarity proteins. Pathologically, nectins serve as entry and cell-cell spread mediators of herpes simplex viruses.
CITATION STYLE
Irie, K., Shimizu, K., Sakisaka, T., Ikeda, W., & Takai, Y. (2004). Roles of Nectins in Cell Adhesion, Signaling and Polarization (pp. 343–372). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-68170-0_11
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