Structural highlights
Disease
[PCD15_MOUSE] Defects in Pcdh15 are the cause of the Ames waltzer (av) phenotype. It is characterized by deafness and a balance disorder, associated with the degeneration of inner ear neuroepithelia. [CAD23_MOUSE] Defects in Cdh23 are the cause of waltzer (v) phenotype. Waltzer mice are characterized by deafness and vestibular dysfunction due to degeneration of the neuroepithelium within the inner ear.
Function
[PCD15_MOUSE] Calcium-dependent cell-adhesion protein. Required for inner ear neuroepithelial cell elaboration and cochlear function. Probably involved in the maintenance of normal retinal function. [CAD23_MOUSE] Cadherins are calcium-dependent cell adhesion proteins. They preferentially interact with themselves in a homophilic manner in connecting cells. CDH23 is required for establishing and/or maintaining the proper organization of the stereocilia bundle of hair cells in the cochlea and the vestibule during late embryonic/early postnatal development. It is part of the functional network formed by USH1C, USH1G, CDH23 and MYO7A that mediates mechanotransduction in cochlear hair cells. Required for normal hearing.[1]
References
- ↑ Di Palma F, Holme RH, Bryda EC, Belyantseva IA, Pellegrino R, Kachar B, Steel KP, Noben-Trauth K. Mutations in Cdh23, encoding a new type of cadherin, cause stereocilia disorganization in waltzer, the mouse model for Usher syndrome type 1D. Nat Genet. 2001 Jan;27(1):103-7. PMID:11138008 doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/83660
