Cadherins are calcium dependent cell adhesion proteins, a family of Ca++-dependent adhesion molecules that influence cell-cell binding and are critical to the maintenance of tissue structure and morphogenesis. OB-cadherin (osteoblast-cadherin, cadherin-11, OSF-4) has two forms, OB-cadherin-1 and OB-cadherin-2. OB-cadherin-2 has a truncated cytoplasmic domain, missing amino acids 694-796. Both OB-cadherins are expressed in osteoblastic cell lines with low expression seen in lungs, testis and brain. They preferentially interact with themselves in a homophilic manner in connecting cells; cadherins may thus contribute to the sorting of heterogeneous cell types
