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. Probably contributes in early embryos to cell-type non-specific cell adhesion, but in post-neurula embryos may be responsible for the development and/or maintenance of anterior neural tissues, and may be used in adult frog for the development and/or maintenance of neural, endodermal and reproductive organs. Expressed strongly in ovary, testis, brain, eye and kidney, and weakly in stomach and intestine. In the egg, the mRNA occurred as a maternal mRNA at a relatively high level, and its level became very low by the neurula stage, then increased steadily thereafter. 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.