Switching of α-Catenin From Epithelial to Neuronal Type During Lens Epithelial Cell Differentiation.

ABSTRACT:

Purpose

Ocular lens fiber cell elongation, differentiation, and compaction are associated with extensive reorganization of cell adhesive interactions and cytoskeleton; however, our knowledge of proteins critical to these events is still evolving. This study characterizes the distribution pattern of neuronal-specific α-catenin (αN-catenin) and its interaction with the N-cadherin-associated adherens junctions (AJs) and their stability in the mouse lens fibers.

Methods

Expression and distribution of αN-catenin in developing mouse and adult human lenses was determined by RT-PCR, immunoblot, and immunofluorescence analyses. Characterization of αN-catenin and N-cadherin interacting proteins and colocalization analyses were performed using immunoprecipitation, mass spectrometry, an

SUBMITTER: Maddala R 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5505122 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature