Traffic control: p120-catenin acts as a gatekeeper to control the fate of classical cadherins in mammalian cells.
Proteins of the p120 family have been implicated in the regulation of cadherin-based cell adhesion, but their relative importance in this process and their mechanism of action have remained less clear. Three papers in this issue suggest that p120 plays a key role in maintaining normal levels of cadherin in mammalian cells, and that it may do so by regulating cadherin trafficking (Chen et al., 2003; Davis et al., 2003; Xiao et al., 2003).
Peifer
Mark
M
Department of Biology and Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-3280, USA. peifer@unc.edu
Yap
Alpha S
AS
D022005:Adherens Junctions / Q000378:metabolism; D000818:Animals; D015820:Cadherins / Q000378:metabolism*; D051177:Catenins; D002448:Cell Adhesion / Q000502:physiology*; D015815:Cell Adhesion Molecules / Q000378:metabolism*; D002462:Cell Membrane / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D008322:Mammals; D010750:Phosphoproteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D021381:Protein Transport / Q000502:physiology*; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000502:physiology; D000095002:Delta Catenin
D015820:Cadherins; D051177:Catenins; D015815:Cell Adhesion Molecules; D010750:Phosphoproteins; D000095002:Delta Catenin; C000722347:CTNND1 protein, human