catenin (beta) Adenovirus

The catenins, α , β and γ , are proteins which bind to the highly conserved, intracellular cytoplasmic tail of E-cadherin. Together, the catenin/cadherin complexes play an important role mediating cellular adhesion. α-catenin, a 102 kDa protein, was initially described as an E-cadherin associated protein, and since has been shown to associate with other members of the cadherin family, such as N-cadherin and P-cadherin. The 92 kDa β-catenin associates with the cytoplasmic portion of E-cadherin, which is necessary for the func-tion of E-cadherin as an adhesion molecule. β-catenin has also been found in complexes with the tumor suppressor protein APC. γ-catenin, also known as plakoglobin, is an 82 kDa protein that binds with α-catenin and N-cad-herin.