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Concept
Catenin beta-1
Summary
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, lung cancer, malignant breast tumors, ovarian and endometrial cancer. Alterations in the localization and expression levels of beta-catenin have been associated with various forms of heart disease, including dilated cardiomyopathy. β-catenin is regulated and destroyed by the beta-catenin destruction complex, and in particular by the adenomatous polyposis coli (APC) protein, encoded by the tumour-suppressing APC gene. Therefore, genetic mutation of the APC gene is also strongly linked to cancers, and in particular colorectal cancer resulting from familial adenomatous polyposis (FAP).
Beta-catenin was initially discovered in the early 1990s as a component of a mammalian cell adhesion complex: a protein responsible for cytoplasmatic anchoring of cadherins. But very soon, it was realized that the Drosophila protein armadillo – implicated in mediating the morphogenic effects of Wingless/Wnt – is homologous to the mammalian β-catenin, not just in structure but also in function. Thus beta-catenin became one of the first examples of moonlighting: a protein performing more than one radically different cellular function.
Official source
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