Historical Background
Cell–cell interactions via cell adhesion are the basis for the evolution of all multicellular organisms. The first experiments to understand cell adhesion were performed at the beginning of the last century by Wilson (1907), who dissociated sponges and allowed them to fuse and to reconstitute. Fifty years later, Townes and Holtfreter (1955) demonstrated that dissociated cells from amphibian embryos adhere to form random aggregates of their origin, with ectoderm forming an outer surface layer, endoderm forming a compact central ball, and mesoderm producing a loose array of cells. In 1963, Roger Sperry (1963) proposed that different cells bear distinct cell surface proteins that serve as markers or tags. One of these markers, the Neural Cell Adhesion Molecule (NCAM) was first described in 1974 by Elizabeth Bock (Jacque et al. 1974) and designated as D2 antigen. Three years later, the group of Edelman (Thiery et al. 1977) approved that...
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.
Buying options
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Learn about institutional subscriptionsReferences
Barbas JA, Chaix JC, Steinmetz M, Goridis C. Differential splicing and alternative polyadenylation generates distinct N-CAM transcripts and proteins in the mouse. EMBO J. 1988;7:625–32.
Barthels D, Santoni MJ, Wille W, Ruppert C, Chaix JC, Hirsch MR, Fontecilla-Camps JC, Goridis C. Isolation and nucleotide sequence of mouse NCAM cDNA that codes for a Mr 79,000 polypeptide without a membrane-spanning region. EMBO J. 1987;6:907–14.
Beggs HE, Baragona SC, Hemperly JJ, Maness PF. NCAM140 interacts with the focal adhesion kinase p125(fak) and the SRC-related tyrosine kinase p59(fyn). J Biol Chem. 1997;272:8310–9.
Cremer H, Lange R, Christoph A, Plomann M, Vopper G, Roes J, Brown R, Baldwin S, Kraemer P, Scheff S, et al. Inactivation of the N-CAM gene in mice results in size reduction of the olfactory bulb and deficits in spatial learning. Nature. 1994;367:455–9.
Doherty P, Walsh FS. CAM-FGF receptor interactions: a model for axonal growth. Mol Cell Neurosci. 1996;8:99–111.
Doherty P, Cohen J, Walsh FS. Neurite outgrowth in response to transfected N-CAM changes during development and is modulated by polysialic acid. Neuron. 1990;5(2):209–19.
Finne J, Finne U, Deagostini-Bazin H, Goridis C. Occurrence of alpha 2–8 linked polysialosyl units in a neural cell adhesion molecule. Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 1983;112:482–7.
Jacque CM, Jorgensen OS, Bock E. Quantitative studies on the brain specific antigens S-100, GFA, 14-3-2, D1, D2, D3 and C1 in Quaking mouse. FEBS Lett. 1974;49:264–6.
Jessen U, Novitskaya V, Pedersen N, Serup P, Berezin V, Bock E. The transcription factors CREB and c-Fos play key roles in NCAM-mediated neuritogenesis in PC12-E2 cells. J Neurochem. 2001;79:1149–60.
Kiselyov VV, Skladchikova G, Hinsby AM, Jensen PH, Kulahin N, Soroka V, Pedersen N, Tsetlin V, Poulsen FM, Berezin V, Bock E. Structural basis for a direct interaction between FGFR1 and NCAM and evidence for a regulatory role of ATP. Structure. 2003;11(6):691–701.
Kolkova K, Novitskaya V, Pedersen N, Berezin V, Bock E. Neural cell adhesion molecule-stimulated neurite outgrowth depends on activation of protein kinase C and the Ras-mitogen-activated protein kinase pathway. J Neurosci. 2000;20:2238–46.
Maness PF, Schachner M. Neural recognition molecules of the immunoglobulin superfamily: signaling transducers of axon guidance and neuronal migration. Nat Neurosci. 2007;10:19–26.
Shimomura A, Okamoto Y, Hirata Y, Kobayashi M, Kawakami K, Kiuchi K, Wakabayashi T, Hagiwara M. Dominant negative ATF1 blocks cyclic AMP-induced neurite outgrowth in PC12D cells. J Neurochem. 1998;70:1029–34.
Skladchikova G, Ronn LC, Berezin V, Bock E. Extracellular adenosine triphosphate affects neural cell adhesion molecule (NCAM)-mediated cell adhesion and neurite outgrowth. J Neurosci Res. 1999;57(2):207–18.
Soroka V, Kolkova K, Kastrup JS, Diederichs K, Breed J, Kiselyov VV, Poulsen FM, Larsen IK, Welte W, Berezin V, Bock E, Kasper C. Structure and interactions of NCAM Ig1-2-3 suggest a novel zipper mechanism for homophilic adhesion. Structure. 2003;11:1291–301.
Sperry RW. Chemoaffinity in the orderly growth of nerve fiber patterns and connections. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1963;50:703–10.
Thiery JP, Brackenbury R, Rutishauser U, Edelman GM. Adhesion among neural cells of the chick embryo. II. Purification and characterization of a cell adhesion molecule from neural retina. J Biol Chem. 1977;252:6841–5.
Townes PL, Holtfreter J. Directed movements and selective adhesion of embryonic amphibian cells. J Exp Zool. 1955;128:53–120.
Wilson HVP. On some phenomena of coalescence and regeneration in sponges. J Exp Zool. 1907;5:245–58.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2018 Springer International Publishing AG
About this entry
Cite this entry
Horstkorte, R., Büttner, B., Bork, K. (2018). NCAM1. In: Choi, S. (eds) Encyclopedia of Signaling Molecules. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-67199-4_429
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-67199-4_429
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-67198-7
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-67199-4
eBook Packages: Biomedical and Life SciencesReference Module Biomedical and Life Sciences