CD144 (VE-Cadherin) Antigen

CD144, also called Cadherin 5, CDH5 or VE-Cadherin is a 140 kDa protein belonging to the cadherin family of cell adhesion molecules which interact homophilically in trans and form lateral interactions in cis. VE-cadherin is the major component of endothelial adherens junctions and is specific to endothelial cells. It is present in all endothelial cells of all types of vessels. It is located at the intercellular cleft sites of the junction within endothelial tissue. CD144 cannot be found in any other cell type, including blood cells or hemopoietic stem cells, and, like a signature for the endothelium, is expressed during development, when cells become committed to the endothelial lineage. The cadherin 5 molecule may play a role in the permeability properties of vascular endothelium.