The alpha gene cluster is composed of 15 cadherin superfamily genes related to the mouse CNR genes and consists of 13 highly similar and two more distantly related coding sequences.

The large, uninterrupted N-terminal exons each encode six cadherin ectodomains, while the C-terminal exons encode the cytoplasmic domain.

These neural cadherin-like cell adhesion proteins are integral plasma membrane proteins that most likely play a critical role in the establishment and function of specific cell-cell connections in the brain.

Alternative splicing has been observed, and additional variants have been suggested, but their full-length nature has yet to be determined.

This article on a gene on human chromosome 5 is a stub.