Cell adhesion molecules are a family of closely related cell surface glycoproteins involved in cell-cell interactions during growth and are thought to play an important role in embryogenesis and development. Neuronal cell adhesion molecule (NCAM) expression is observed in a variety of human tumors including neuroblastomas, rhabdomyosarcomas, Wilms' tumors, Ewing's sarcomas and some primitive myeloid malignancies. The intracellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1), also referred to as CD54, is an integral membrane protein of the immunoglobulin superfamily and recognizes the B21 and B2M integrins. PECAM-1 (platelet/endothelial cell adhesion molecule-1), also referred to as CD31, is a glycoprotein expressed on the cell surfaces of monocytes, neutrophils, platelets and a subpopulation of T cells. VCAM-1 (vascular cell adhesion molecule-1) was first identified as an adhesion molecule induced on human endothelial cells by inflammatory cytokines such as IL-1, tumor necrosis factor (TNF) and lipopolysaccharide (LPS). The KALIG gene encodes a nerve cell adhesion molecule (NCAM) -like protein and is deleted in 66% of patients with Kallmann's syndrome, anosmia with secondary hypogonadism.
