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  • The EMBO Journal (2002) 21, 2537 - 2546
  • doi:10.1093/emboj/21.11.2537

Fast dissociation kinetics between individual E-cadherin fragments revealed by flow chamber analysis

Emilie Perret1, Anne-Marie Benoliel2, Pierre Nassoy3, Anne Pierres2, Véronique Delmas4, Jean-Paul Thiery1, Pierre Bongrand2 and Hélène Feracci1

  1. Laboratoire de Morphogenèse Cellulaire et Différenciation Tumorale, UMR 144, CNRS/Institut Curie, 26 rue d'Ulm, F-75248 Paris Cedex 05, France
  2. Laboratoire d'Immunologie, INSERM U 387, Hôpital de Sainte-Marguerite, BP 29, F-13274 Marseille Cedex 09, France
  3. Physico-Chimie Curie, UMR 168, CNRS/Institut Curie, 26 rue d'Ulm, F-75248 Paris Cedex 05, France
  4. Laboratoire de Génétique du Développement des Mélanocytes, Institut Curie/CNRS UMR 146, Bâtiment 110, Centre Universitaire, F-91405 Orsay, France

Correspondence to:

Hélène Feracci, E-mail: Helene.Feracci@curie.fr

Received 11 December 2001; Accepted 5 April 2002; Revised 27 March 2002

E-cadherin is the predominant adhesion molecule of epithelia. The interaction between extracellular segments of E-cadherin in the membrane of opposing cells is homophilic and calcium dependent. Whereas it is widely accepted that the specificity of the adhesive interaction is localized to the N-terminal domain, the kinetics of the recognition process are unknown. We report the first quantitative data describing the dissociation kinetics of individual E-cadherin interactions. Aggregation assays indicate that the two outermost domains of E-cadherin (E/EC1–2) retain biological activity when chemically immobilized on glass beads. Cadherin fragment trans-interaction was analysed using a flow chamber technique. Transient tethers had first-order kinetics, suggesting a unimolecular interaction. The unstressed lifetime of individual E-cadherin interactions was as brief as 2 s. A fast off rate and the low tensile strength of the E-cadherin bond may be necessary to support the high selectivity and plasticity of epithelial cell interactions.

  • Keywords:

    • cell adhesion,
    • E-cadherin,
    • flow chamber,
    • kinetics,
    • mechanism