title: Catenins: keeping cells from getting their signals crossed.
abstract: Adherens junctions have been traditionally viewed as building blocks of tissue architecture. The foundations for this view began to change with the discovery that a central component of AJs, beta-catenin, can also function as a transcriptional cofactor in Wnt signaling. In recent years, conventional views have similarly been shaken about the other two major AJ catenins, alpha-catenin and p120-catenin. Catenins have emerged as molecular sensors that integrate cell-cell junctions and cytoskeletal dynamics with signaling pathways that govern morphogenesis, tissue homeostasis, and even intercellular communication between different cell types within a tissue. These findings reveal novel aspects of AJ function in normal tissues and offer insights into how changes in AJs and their associated proteins and cytoskeletal dynamics impact wound-repair and cancer.
authors.affiliation: Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Laboratory of Mammalian Cell Biology and Development, The Rockefeller University, New York, New York 10021, USA.
authors.forename: Mirna
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Perez-Moreno
authors.forename: Elaine
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Fuchs
mesh_terms: D000199:Actins / Q000378:metabolism; D022005:Adherens Junctions / Q000502:physiology*; D000818:Animals; D051177:Catenins; D015815:Cell Adhesion Molecules / Q000502:physiology*; D002450:Cell Communication / Q000502:physiology*; D002453:Cell Cycle / Q000502:physiology; D003599:Cytoskeleton / Q000502:physiology; D007249:Inflammation / Q000473:pathology; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology; D010750:Phosphoproteins / Q000502:physiology*; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000502:physiology; D014945:Wound Healing / Q000502:physiology; D051178:alpha Catenin / Q000502:physiology*; D051176:beta Catenin / Q000502:physiology*; D000095002:Delta Catenin
chemical_list: D000199:Actins; D051177:Catenins; D015815:Cell Adhesion Molecules; D010750:Phosphoproteins; D051178:alpha Catenin; D051176:beta Catenin; D000095002:Delta Catenin