Cadherins are a family of transmembrane glycoproteins that play a key role in Calcium dependent cell-cell adhesion. Several members of the cadherin family have been identified so far, including E- (epithelial), P- (placental), N- (neuronal) and M- (muscle) cadherin. Cadherins consist of an extracellular domain containing 5 cadherin domains, a transmembrane region, and a conserved cytoplasmic domain. Transcripts from this particular cadherin are expressed in myoblasts and upregulated in myotubule-forming cells. M-Cadherin is thought to be essential for the control of morphogenetic processes, specifically myogenesis, and may provide a trigger for terminal muscle cell differentiation.