These tools will no longer be maintained as of December 31, 2024. Archived website can be found here. PubMed4Hh GitHub repository can be found here. Contact NLM Customer Service if you have questions.


PUBMED FOR HANDHELDS

Search MEDLINE/PubMed


  • Title: Interaction of alpha-actinin with the cadherin/catenin cell-cell adhesion complex via alpha-catenin.
    Author: Knudsen KA, Soler AP, Johnson KR, Wheelock MJ.
    Journal: J Cell Biol; 1995 Jul; 130(1):67-77. PubMed ID: 7790378.
    Abstract:
    Cadherins are Ca(2+)-dependent, cell surface glycoproteins involved in cell-cell adhesion. Extracellularly, transmembrane cadherins such as E-, P-, and N-cadherin self-associate, while intracellularly they interact indirectly with the actin-based cytoskeleton. Several intracellular proteins termed catenins, including alpha-catenin, beta-catenin, and plakoglobin, are tightly associated with these cadherins and serve to link them to the cytoskeleton. Here, we present evidence that in fibroblasts alpha-actinin, but not vinculin, colocalizes extensively with the N-cadherin/catenin complex. This is in contrast to epithelial cells where both cytoskeletal proteins colocalize extensively with E-cadherin and catenins. We further show that alpha-actinin, but not vinculin, coimmunoprecipitates specifically with alpha- and beta-catenin from N- and E-cadherin-expressing cells, but only if alpha-catenin is present. Moreover, we show that alpha-actinin coimmunoprecipitates with the N-cadherin/catenin complex in an actin-independent manner. We therefore propose that cadherin/catenin complexes are linked to the actin cytoskeleton via a direct association between alpha-actinin and alpha-catenin.
    [Abstract] [Full Text] [Related] [New Search]