Catenin
Catenins are a family of proteins found in complexes with cadherin cell adhesion molecules of animal cells. The first two catenins that were identified became known as α-catenin and β-catenin. α-Catenin can bind to β-catenin and can also bind filamentous actin (F-actin). β-Catenin binds directly to the cytoplasmic tail of classical cadherins. Additional catenins such as γ-catenin and δ-catenin have been identified. The name "catenin" was originally selected ('catena' means 'chain' in Latin) because it was suspected that catenins might link cadherins to the cytoskeleton. Types * α-catenin * β-catenin * γ-catenin * δ-catenin All but α-catenin contain armadillo repeats. They exhibit a high degree of protein dynamics, alone or in complex. Function Several types of catenins work with N-cadherins to play an important role in learning and memory. Cell-cell adhesion complexes are required for simple epithelia in higher organisms to maintain structure, function a ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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β-catenin
Catenin beta-1, also known as beta-catenin (β-catenin), is a protein that in humans is encoded by the ''CTNNB1'' gene. Beta-catenin is a dual function protein, involved in regulation and coordination of cell–cell adhesion and gene transcription. In humans, the CTNNB1 protein is encoded by the ''CTNNB1'' gene. In ''Drosophila'', the homologous protein is called ''armadillo''. β-catenin is a subunit of the cadherin protein complex and acts as an intracellular signal transducer in the Wnt signaling pathway. It is a member of the catenin protein family and homologous to γ-catenin, also known as plakoglobin. Beta-catenin is widely expressed in many tissues. In cardiac muscle, beta-catenin localizes to adherens junctions in intercalated disc structures, which are critical for electrical and mechanical coupling between adjacent cardiomyocytes. Mutations and overexpression of β-catenin are associated with many cancers, including hepatocellular carcinoma, colorectal carcinoma, lun ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Beta-catenin
Catenin beta-1, also known as beta-catenin (β-catenin), is a protein that in humans is encoded by the ''CTNNB1'' gene. Beta-catenin is a dual function protein, involved in regulation and coordination of cell–cell adhesion and gene transcription. In humans, the CTNNB1 protein is encoded by the ''CTNNB1'' gene. In '' Drosophila'', the homologous protein is called ''armadillo''. β-catenin is a subunit of the cadherin protein complex and acts as an intracellular signal transducer in the Wnt signaling pathway. It is a member of the catenin protein family and homologous to γ-catenin, also known as plakoglobin. Beta-catenin is widely expressed in many tissues. In cardiac muscle, beta-catenin localizes to adherens junctions in intercalated disc structures, which are critical for electrical and mechanical coupling between adjacent cardiomyocytes. Mutations and overexpression of β-catenin are associated with many cancers, including hepatocellular carcinoma, colorectal ca ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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α-catenin
Alpha-catenin functions as the primary protein link between cadherins and the actin cytoskeleton. It has been reported that the actin binding proteins vinculin and alpha-actinin can bind to alpha-catenin. It has been suggested that alpha-catenin does not bind with high affinity to both actin filaments and the E-cadherin-beta-catenin complex at the same time. It has been observed that when alpha-catenin is not in a molecular complex with beta-catenin, it dimerizes and functions to regulate actin filament assembly, possibly by competing with Arp2/3 protein. Alpha catenin exhibits significant protein dynamics. However, a protein complex including a cadherin, actin, beta-catenin and alpha-catenin has not been isolated. The amino acid sequence of alpha-catenin has sequence similarity to that of vinculin. Types Three alpha-catenin genes are expressed in humans: * CTNNA1, alpha-1-catenin (also called alpha-E-catenin) * CTNNA2, alpha-2-catenin (also called alpha-N-catenin) * CTNNA3, ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Wnt Signaling Pathway
The Wnt signaling pathways are a group of signal transduction pathways which begin with proteins that pass signals into a cell through cell surface receptors. The name Wnt is a portmanteau created from the names Wingless and Int-1. Wnt signaling pathways use either nearby cell-cell communication (paracrine) or same-cell communication (autocrine). They are highly evolutionarily conserved in animals, which means they are similar across animal species from fruit flies to humans. Three Wnt signaling pathways have been characterized: the canonical Wnt pathway, the noncanonical planar cell polarity pathway, and the noncanonical Wnt/calcium pathway. All three pathways are activated by the binding of a Wnt-protein ligand to a Frizzled family receptor, which passes the biological signal to the Dishevelled protein inside the cell. The canonical Wnt pathway leads to regulation of gene transcription, and is thought to be negatively regulated in part by the SPATS1 gene. The noncanonical ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Gamma Catenin
Plakoglobin, also known as junction plakoglobin or gamma-catenin, is a protein that in humans is encoded by the ''JUP'' gene. Plakoglobin is a member of the catenin protein family and homologous to β-catenin. Plakoglobin is a cytoplasmic component of desmosomes and adherens junctions structures located within intercalated discs of cardiac muscle that function to anchor sarcomeres and join adjacent cells in cardiac muscle. Mutations in plakoglobin are associated with arrhythmogenic right ventricular dysplasia. Structure Human plakoglobin is 81.7 kDa in molecular weight and 745 amino acids long. The ''JUP'' gene contains 13 exons spanning 17 kb on chromosome 17q21. Plakoglobin is a member of the catenin family, since it contains a distinct repeating amino acid motif called the armadillo repeat. Plakoglobin is highly similar to β-catenin; both have 12 armadillo repeats as well as N-terminal and C-terminal globular domains of unknown structure. Plakoglobin was originally identified ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Adenomatous Polyposis Coli
Adenomatous polyposis coli (APC) also known as deleted in polyposis 2.5 (DP2.5) is a protein that in humans is encoded by the ''APC'' gene. The APC protein is a negative regulator that controls beta-catenin concentrations and interacts with E-cadherin, which are involved in cell adhesion. Mutations in the ''APC'' gene may result in colorectal cancer. ''APC'' is classified as a tumor suppressor gene. Tumor suppressor genes prevent the uncontrolled growth of cells that may result in cancerous tumors. The protein made by the ''APC'' gene plays a critical role in several cellular processes that determine whether a cell may develop into a tumor. The APC protein helps control how often a cell divides, how it attaches to other cells within a tissue, how the cell polarizes and the morphogenesis of the 3D structures, or whether a cell moves within or away from tissue. This protein also helps ensure that the chromosome number in cells produced through cell division is correct. The APC ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Cadherin
Cadherins (named for "calcium-dependent adhesion") are a type of cell adhesion molecule (CAM) that is important in the formation of adherens junctions to allow cells to adhere to each other . Cadherins are a class of type-1 transmembrane proteins, and they are dependent on calcium (Ca2+) ions to function, hence their name. Cell-cell adhesion is mediated by extracellular cadherin domains, whereas the intracellular cytoplasmic tail associates with numerous adaptors and signaling proteins, collectively referred to as the cadherin adhesome. The cadherin family is essential in maintaining the cell-cell contact and regulating cytoskeletal complexes. The cadherin superfamily includes cadherins, protocadherins, desmogleins, desmocollins, and more. In structure, they share ''cadherin repeats'', which are the extracellular Ca2+- binding domains. There are multiple classes of cadherin molecules, each designated with a prefix (in general, noting the types of tissue with which it is ass ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Delta Catenin
Delta-1-catenin and Delta-2-catenin are members of a subfamily of proteins with ten Armadillo-repeats. Delta-2-catenin is expressed in the brain where it is important for normal cognitive development. Like beta-catenin and gamma-catenin, delta-catenins seem to interact with Presenilins. These catenin-presenilin interaction have implications for cadherin function and regulation of cell-to-cell adhesion. While beta-catenin acts as a transcription regulatory protein in the Wnt/TCF pathway, delta-catenin 1 has been implicated as a regulator of the NF-κB transcription factor. Palmitoylation of delta-catenin seems to coordinate activity-dependent changes in synaptic adhesion molecules, synapse structure, and receptor localizations that are involved in memory formation. References See also *Catenin *CTNND1 p120, and called catenin delta-1 is a protein that in humans is encoded by the CTNND1 gene. Function This gene encodes a member of the Armadillo protein family, which fun ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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AXIN1
Axin-1 is a protein that in humans is encoded by the ''AXIN1'' gene. Function This gene encodes a cytoplasmic protein which contains a regulation of G-protein signaling (RGS) domain and a dishevelled and axin (DIX) domain. The encoded protein interacts with adenomatosis polyposis coli, catenin (cadherin-associated protein) beta 1, glycogen synthase kinase 3 beta, protein phosphatase 2, and itself. This protein functions as a negative regulator of the wingless-type MMTV integration site family, member 1 ( WNT) signaling pathway and can induce apoptosis. The crystal structure of a portion of this protein, alone and in a complex with other proteins, has been resolved. Mutations in this gene have been associated with hepatocellular carcinoma, hepatoblastomas, ovarian endometrioid adenocarcinomas, and medulloblastomas. Two transcript variants encoding distinct isoforms have been identified for this gene. The AXIN proteins attract substantial interest in cancer research as AXIN1 a ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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AXIN2
Axin-2 also known as axin-like protein (Axil) or axis inhibition protein 2 (AXIN2) or conductin is a protein that in humans is encoded by the ''AXIN2'' gene. Function The Axin-related protein, Axin2, presumably plays an important role in the regulation of the stability of beta-catenin in the Wnt signaling pathway, like its rodent homologs, mouse conductin/rat axil. In mouse, conductin organizes a multiprotein complex of APC (adenomatous polyposis of the colon), beta-catenin, glycogen synthase kinase 3-beta, and conductin, which leads to the degradation of beta-catenin. The AXIN proteins attract substantial interest in cancer research as AXIN1 and AXIN2 work synergistically to control pro-oncogenic β-catenin signaling. Importantly, activity in the β-catenin destruction complex can be increased by tankyrase inhibitors and are a potential therapeutic option to reduce the growth of β-catenin-dependent cancers. Clinical significance The deregulation of beta-catenin is an imp ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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GSK3B
Glycogen synthase kinase-3 beta, (GSK-3 beta), is an enzyme that in humans is encoded by the ''GSK3B'' gene. In mice, the enzyme is encoded by the Gsk3b gene. Abnormal regulation and expression of GSK-3 beta is associated with an increased susceptibility towards bipolar disorder. Function Glycogen synthase kinase-3 ( GSK-3) is a proline-directed serine-threonine kinase that was initially identified as a phosphorylating and an inactivating agent of glycogen synthase. Two isoforms, alpha ( GSK3A) and beta, show a high degree of amino acid homology. GSK3B is involved in energy metabolism, neuronal cell development, and body pattern formation. It might be a new therapeutic target for ischemic stroke. Disease relevance Homozygous disruption of the Gsk3b locus in mice results in embryonic lethality during mid-gestation. This lethality phenotype could be rescued by inhibition of tumor necrosis factor. Two SNPs at this gene, rs334558 (-50T/C) and rs3755557 (-1727A/T), are assoc ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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BTRC (gene)
F-box/WD repeat-containing protein 1A (FBXW1A) also known as βTrCP1 or Fbxw1 or hsSlimb or pIkappaBalpha-E3 receptor subunit is a protein that in humans is encoded by the ''BTRC'' (beta-transducin repeat containing) gene. This gene encodes a member of the F-box protein family which is characterized by an approximately 40 residue structural motif, the F-box. The F-box proteins constitute one of the four subunits of ubiquitin protein ligase complex called SCFs ( Skp1-Cul1-F-box protein), which often, but not always, recognize substrates in a phosphorylation-dependent manner. F-box proteins are divided into 3 classes: * Fbxws containing WD40 repeats, * Fbxls containing leucine-rich repeats, * and Fbxos containing either "other" protein–protein interaction modules or no recognizable motifs. The protein encoded by this gene belongs to the Fbxw class as, in addition to an F-box, this protein contains multiple WD40 repeats. This protein is homologous to Xenopus βTrCP, yeast Met30, ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |