Click here to close Hello! We notice that you are using Internet Explorer, which is not supported by Xenbase and may cause the site to display incorrectly. We suggest using a current version of Chrome, FireFox, or Safari.
XB-ART-16698
Development 1997 Apr 01;1248:1553-60. doi: 10.1242/dev.124.8.1553.
Show Gene links Show Anatomy links

The roles of maternal alpha-catenin and plakoglobin in the early Xenopus embryo.

Kofron M , Spagnuolo A , Klymkowsky M , Wylie C , Heasman J .


???displayArticle.abstract???
Catenins (alpha-, beta- and gamma- or plakoglobin) are cytoplasmic cadherin-associated proteins. Studies on cultured cells have suggested that both alpha-catenin and plakoglobin are important for the adhesive function of cadherins. alpha-catenin binds to both beta-catenin and plakoglobin and may link the cadherin/catenin complex to actin filaments. Separate domains of plakoglobin bind to cadherin and alpha-catenin, suggesting it may act as a bridge between these molecules. However, plakoglobin may have other activities: it is expressed in both desmosomal junctions in association with desmogleins and the cytoplasm in conjunction with APC, and previous work suggests it may act in a dorsal signalling pathway when overexpressed in Xenopus embryos. Here, we have studied the roles of alpha-catenin and plakoglobin directly, by depleting the maternal mRNAs coding for each of them in developing Xenopus embryos. We find that depletion of maternal alpha-catenin causes the loss of intercellular adhesion at the blastula stage, similar to that reported previously for EP cadherin. Depletion of plakoglobin results in a partial loss of adhesion, and a loss of embryonic shape, but does not affect dorsal signalling.

???displayArticle.pubmedLink??? 9108371
???displayArticle.link??? Development
???displayArticle.grants??? [+]

Species referenced: Xenopus laevis
Genes referenced: actl6a ctnnb1 jup myod1 tbx2


???attribute.lit??? ???displayArticles.show???