Guilt by association: what p120-catenin has to hide.
Members of the p120-catenin family associate with cadherins and regulate their stability at the plasma membrane. How p120-catenin limits cadherin endocytosis has long remained a mystery. In this issue, Nanes et al. (2012. J. Cell Biol. doi:10.1083/jcb.201205029) identify a conserved acidic motif within cadherins that acts as a physical platform for p120-catenin binding. However, in the absence of p120-catenin, the motif acts as an endocytic signal. These results provide new insight into p120-catenin's role as guardian of intercellular junction dynamics.
BBVA Foundation-Cancer Cell Biology Programme, Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Oncológicas (CNIO), Madrid 28019, Spain. maperez@cnio.es
Mirna
M
Perez-Moreno
Elaine
E
Fuchs
D022005:Adherens Junctions / Q000378:metabolism*; D000818:Animals; D015703:Antigens, CD / Q000378:metabolism*; D015820:Cadherins / Q000378:metabolism*; D051177:Catenins / Q000378:metabolism*; D004705:Endocytosis; D006801:Humans; D000095002:Delta Catenin; D000099152:Cadherin 5
D015703:Antigens, CD; D015820:Cadherins; D051177:Catenins; D000095002:Delta Catenin; D000099152:Cadherin 5; C000722347:CTNND1 protein, human