The distinct peripheral cytosolic proteins, alpha, beta and gamma-catenin (102, 94 and 86 kDa) found in many tissues bind to the conserved cytoplasmic tail domain of the cell-adhesion cadherins. Catenins link E-cadherin to other integral membrane or cytoplasmic proteins and are modulated by Wnt-1 proto-oncogene. They are good candidates for mediating transduction of cell-cell contact positional signals to the cell interior. Absence of alpha-catenin is found in certain tumor cell lines and r

This gene is overexpressed in breast cancer and squamous cell carcinomas of the head and neck. The encoded protein is localized in the cytoplasm and in areas of the cell-substratum contacts. This gene has two roles: (1) regulating the interactions between components of adherens-type junctions and (2) organizing the cytoskeleton and cell adhesion structures of epithelia and carcinoma cells. During apoptosis, the encoded protein is degraded in a caspase-dependent manner. The aberrant regula

This gene encodes a tumor suppressor protein that acts as an antagonist of the Wnt signaling pathway. It is also involved in other processes including cell migration and adhesion, transcriptional activation, and apoptosis. Defects in this gene cause familial adenomatous polyposis (FAP), an autosomal dominant pre-malignant disease that usually progresses to malignancy. Disease-associated mutations tend to be clustered in a small region designated the mutation cluster region (MCR) and result i

This magnesium-dependent enzyme catalyzes the hydrolysis of ATP coupled with the translocation of calcium from the cytosol to the sarcoplasmic reticulum lumen. Contributes to calcium sequestration involved in muscular excitation/contraction.

This gene belongs to the subfamily of ubiquitously expressed heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoproteins (hnRNPs). The hnRNPs are RNA binding proteins and they complex with heterogeneous nuclear RNA (hnRNA). These proteins are associated with pre-mRNAs in the nucleus and appear to influence pre-mRNA processing and other aspects of mRNA metabolism and transport. While all of the hnRNPs are present in the nucleus, some seem to shuttle between the nucleus and the cytoplasm. The hnRNP proteins ha