Developmental biology of a neural cell adhesion molecule.

A membrane glycoprotein isolated from embryonic brain has been shown to be a ligand in the formation of cell-cell bonds. The molecule, called neural cell adhesion molecule (N-CAM), participates in several aspects of neural development, including the formation of plexiform layers, neurite fasciculation and nerve-muscle interactions. Experiments in vivo indicate that N-CAM-mediated adhesion is essential to the orderly assembly of the visual system.