Invitrogen™ E-cadherin Monoclonal Antibody (NCH-38)

E-Cadherin (epithelial cadherin) is a classical cadherin from the cadherin (alcium dependent adhesion protein) superfamily. The encoded protein is a calcium dependent cell-cell adhesion glycoprotein comprised of five extracellular cadherin repeats, a transmembrane region and a highly conserved cytoplasmic tail. Mutations in this gene are correlated with gastric, breast, colorectal, thyroid and ovarian cancer. Loss of function is thought to contribute to progression in cancer by increasing proliferation, invasion, and/or metastasis. The ectodomain of this protein mediates bacterial adhesion to mammalian cells and the cytoplasmic domain is required for internalization. Identified transcript variants arise from mutation at consensus splice sites. E-cadherin plays a central role in the growth and development of cells by controlling tissue architecture, and maintenance of tissue integrity. In humans, E-cadherin is encoded by the CDH1 gene present on chromosome 16. Studies have demonstrated that reduction and/or loss of E-cadherin expression in carcinomas correlates positively with the potential of these tumors for invasion and metastasis.