ASSOCIATION OF THE APC TUMOR-SUPPRESSOR PROTEIN WITH CATENINS

Mutations of APC appear to initiate sporadic and inherited forms of hu man colorectal cancer. Although these mutations have been well charact erized, little is known about the function of the APC gene product. Tw o cellular proteins that associate with APC were identified by nucleot ide sequence analysis and peptide mapping as the E-cadherin-associated proteins alpha- and beta-catenin. A 27-residue fragment of APC contai ning a 15-amino acid repeat was sufficient for the interaction with th e catenins. These results suggest an important link between tumor init iation and cell adhesion.