Cadherins are calcium-dependent cell-cell adhesion molecules that mediate cell-cell binding in a homophilic manner. They play an important role in the growth and development of cells via the mechanisms of control of tissue architecture and the maintenance of tissue integrity. Cadherin expression is regulated spatially as well as temporally. Cadherins are thought to play an important role in development and maintenance of tissues through selective cell-cell adhesion activity and may be involved also in the invasion and metastasis of malignant tumors. Cadherin regulates dendritic spine morphogenesis. A cadherin gene cluster is mapped to a region of chromosome 5 subject to frequent allelic loss in carcinoma.