Cadherins are calcium-dependent cell adhesion proteins. They preferentially interact with themselves in a homophilic manner in connecting cells; cadherins may thus contribute to the sorting of heterogeneous cell types. May act as a negative regulator of neural cell growth. By contrast to classical cadherins, homodimerization in trans is not mediated by cadherin EC1 domain strand-swapping, but instead through a homophilic adhesive interface which joins two elongated EC1-EC2 domains through a region near their Ca2+-binding sites to form a tetrahedral, X-like shape. Highly expressed in heart. In the CNS, expressed in cerebral cortex, medulla, hippocampus, amygdala, thalamus and substantia nigra. No expression detected in cerebellum or spinal cord. Expressed at higher levels in adult brain than in developing brain. Three calcium ions are usually bound at the interface of each cadherin domain and rigidify the connections, imparting a strong curvature to the full-length ectodomain.