Abstract

-catenin has often been considered to be a non-regulatory intercellular adhesion protein, in contrast to -catenin, which has well-documented dual roles in cell–cell adhesion and signal transduction. Recently, however, -catenin has been found to be important not only in connecting the E-cadherin–-catenin complex to the actin cytoskeleton, but also in coordinating actin dynamics and inversely correlating cell adhesion with proliferation. As the number of
-catenin-interacting partners increases, intriguing new connections imply even more complex regulatory functions for this protein.

Author affiliations

1. Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Laboratory of Mammalian Cell Biology and Development, Rockefeller University, 1230 York Avenue, Box 300, New York, New York 10021, USA.

Correspondence to: Email: fuchslb@rockefeller.edu

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