Edited by
Anne E. Cress
Raymond B. Nagle

2006

The ability of an epithelial cell to adhere to its neighbor and to the extracellular environment is an essential process that defines in part, a normal multicellular organism. It is a feature that is fundamental to the development of an organism. Mutations in critical adhesion components will result either in embryonic lethal phenotypes at various stages or lethality shortly after birth.