family of cadherins include epithelial (E-cadherins), placental (P-cadherins), neural (N-cadherins), retinal (R-cadherins), brain (B-cadherins and T-cadherins), and muscle (M-cadherins). Many cell types express combinations of cadherin types.

The extracellular domain has major repeats called extracellular cadherin domains (ECDs). Sequences involved in binding between the ECDs are necessary for cell adhesion. The cytoplasmic domain