Cadherins are calcium-dependent cell adhesion proteins. They preferentially interact with themselves in a homophilic manner in connecting cells; cadherins may thus contribute to the sorting of heterogeneous cell types. Acts as a regulator of neural stem cells quiescence by mediating anchorage of neural stem cells to ependymocytes in the adult subependymal zone: upon cleavage by MMP24, CDH2-mediated anchorage is affected, leading to modulate neural stem cell quiescence. CDH2 may be involved in neuronal recognition mechanism. In hippocampal neurons, may regulate dendritic spine density (By similarity).