Unraveling the mechanism of the cadherin-catenin-actin catch bond.

ABSTRACT: The adherens junctions between epithelial cells involve a protein complex formed by E-cadherin, β-catenin, α-catenin and F-actin. The stability of this complex was a puzzle for many years, since in vitro studies could reconstitute various stable subsets of the individual proteins, but never the entirety. The missing ingredient turned out to be mechanical tension: a recent experiment that applied physiological forces to the complex with an optical tweezer dramatically increased its lifetime, a phenomenon known as catch bonding. However, in the absence of a crystal structure for the full complex, the microscopic details of the catch bond mechanism remain mysterious. Building on structural clues that point to α-catenin as the force transducer, we present a quantitative theoretical model for h

SUBMITTER: Adhikari S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6114904 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature