Cadherin-11 is a type II classical cadherin member of the cadherin superfamily of integral membrane proteins that mediate calcium-dependent cell-cell adhesion. Cadherins interact with themselves in a homophilic manner in connecting cells, and thus contribute to the sorting of heterogeneous cell types. Cadherin-11 contains five cadherin domains and is mainly expressed in the brain. Mature cadherin proteins consists of a large N-terminal extracellular domain, a single membrane-spanning domain, and a small highly conserved C-terminal cytoplasmic domain. It is shown that Cadherin-11 is a viable molecular target for therapeutic intervention in Glioblastoma multiforme.

Neural (N)-cadherin is a calcium-dependent single-chain transmembrane glycoprotein that mediates homotypic and heterotypic cell-cell adhesion. As an important member of the cadherin family, N-cadherin plays an important role in the developmental and functional regulation of the nervous system, brain, heart, skeletal muscles, blood vessels and hematopoietic microenvironment.