Cadherin 9 (CDH9)

CDH9 encodes a type II classical cadherin from the cadherin superfamily, integral membrane proteins that mediate calcium-dependent cell-cell adhesion. After posttranscriptional proteolytic processing, the putative mature protein, a type II classic cadherin, contains a 550-amino acid extracellular domain, a 33-amino acid transmembrane segment, and a 153-amino acid cytoplasmic domain. The extracellular domain is divided into 5 homologous subdomains and contains several residues conserved among classic cadherins, including 4 cysteines in subdomain-5. The HAV tripeptide in extracellular subdomain-1 of type I classic cadherins, considered critical for adhesive function, is replaced with a KAI tripeptide in CDH9. Immunoprecipitation experiments detected CDH9 at an apparent molecular mass of 107 kD.