Cell adhesion is the process by which cells interact and attach to neighbouring cells through specialised molecules of the cell surface. Cell adhesion molecules (CAMs) are a subset of cell adhesion proteins located on the cell surface involved in binding with other cells or with the extracellular matrix (ECM) in the process called cell adhesion. In essence, cell adhesion molecules help cells stick to each other and to their surroundings. Cells adhere to each other and to the extracellular matrix through cell-surface proteins called cell adhesion molecules (CAMs)—a category that includes the transmembrane adhesion proteins we have already discussed. CAMs can be cell-cell adhesion molecules or cell-matrix adhesion molecules.
