Flying under the radar: CDH2 (N-cadherin), an important hub molecule in neurodevelopmental and neurodegenerative diseases

Zsófia I László; Zsolt Lele

doi:10.3389/fnins.2022.972059

Flying under the radar: CDH2 (N-cadherin), an important hub molecule in neurodevelopmental and neurodegenerative diseases

Front Neurosci. 2022 Sep 23:16:972059. doi: 10.3389/fnins.2022.972059. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Zsófia I László^{1

2}, Zsolt Lele¹

Affiliations

¹ Momentum Laboratory of Molecular Neurobiology, Institute of Experimental Medicine, Budapest, Hungary.
² Division of Cellular and Systems Medicine, School of Medicine, University of Dundee, Dundee, United Kingdom.

Abstract

CDH2 belongs to the classic cadherin family of Ca²⁺-dependent cell adhesion molecules with a meticulously described dual role in cell adhesion and β-catenin signaling. During CNS development, CDH2 is involved in a wide range of processes including maintenance of neuroepithelial integrity, neural tube closure (neurulation), confinement of radial glia progenitor cells (RGPCs) to the ventricular zone and maintaining their proliferation-differentiation balance, postmitotic neural precursor migration, axon guidance, synaptic development and maintenance. In the past few years, direct and indirect evidence linked CDH2 to various neurological diseases, and in this review, we summarize recent developments regarding CDH2 function and its involvement in pathological alterations of the CNS.

Keywords: CDH2; N-cadherin; adhesion; brain development; neurodegenerative diseases; neurodevelopmental diseases.

Publication types

Review