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. 1997 Nov;41(5):581–584. doi: 10.1136/gut.41.5.581

The importance of the E-cadherin-catenin complex in the maintenance of intestinal epithelial homoeostasis: more than intercellular glue?

A JAWHARI 1, M FARTHING 1, M PIGNATELLI 1
PMCID: PMC1891567  PMID: 9414960

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Figure 1 .

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: Multimolecular complexes formed by catenins. E-cadherin is a transmembrane protein which binds to β- or γ-catenin in a mutually exclusive interaction. α-catenin links this complex to the actin cytoskeleton. p120cas binds to the cytoplasmic domain of E-cadherin without any link to the cytoskeleton. Other complexes formed by β-catenin include an interaction with the actin bundling protein fascin (top left), a complex with the adenomatous polyposis coli (APC) protein, and in turn to the tublin microfilament network (bottom left), and another with the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFr) (bottom right). TGF-α, tumour growth factor α. 


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