Cell adhesion in cancer

Cell adhesion is a key physiological event tightly coupled to other major cellular processes coordinating morphogenesis and histogenesis. Cell-to-cell and cell-to-extracellular matrix adhesion regulates the social behavior of cells in developing embryos and in the adult. These two adhesion systems also play a critical role in pathogenesis. In vertebrates, more than 3% of genes are thought to encode adhesion molecules. The largest cell adhesion molecule superfamily is that related to N-CAM, the members of which characteristically contain immunoglobulin domains. Cadherins, which also possess Ig domains, constitute another important superfamily with different properties. Integrins are major receptors for many extracellular matrix components. This review describes the structure and function of these adhesion systems and their impact in cancer invasion and metastasis. To cite this article: J.P. Thiery, C. R. Physique 4 (2003).