FIGURE 2:

E-cadherin–dependent cell–cell contacts form independently of α-catenin/vinculin interactions. (A) Schematics of GFP-tagged wild-type (α-cat-wt-GFP), L344P (α-cat-L334P-GFP), and Δmod (α-cat-Δmod-GFP) αE-catenin constructs. (B) Confocal analysis of apical vinculin and F-actin distribution in αE-catenin KD MDCK cells expressing α-cat-wt, α-cat-L334P, and α-cat-Δmod grown on glass surfaces. The expression of mutant proteins restored cell–cell contacts, as did the expression of wt α-catenin. Scale bar: 5 µm. (C) FRAP experiments were performed on cell–cell contacts of α-cat-wt (green), α-cat-L334P (blue), or α-cat-Δmod (red)-expressing cells grown on glass substrates. Mean intensity recoveries over time (±SEM) fitted with a one-term exponential equation (n = 50 regions of interest out of three independent experiments for each condition). (D) Mobile fractions extracted from the fits of individual recovery curves (scatter dot plot, mean values ± SD). ****, p < 0.0001; ***, p < 0.001; ns, nonsignificant; one-way ANOVA test.