Dd. Hegland et al., Regulation of endothelial cell adherens junctions by a Ras-dependent signal transduction pathway, BIOC BIOP R, 260(2), 1999, pp. 371-376
Citations number
26
Categorie Soggetti
Biochemistry & Biophysics
Journal title
BIOCHEMICAL AND BIOPHYSICAL RESEARCH COMMUNICATIONS
Adherens junctions, consisting of transmembrane cadherin molecules and thei
r associated cytoplasmic alpha-, beta-, and gamma-catenin proteins, are tho
ught to be critical for the development of stable cell adhesion and subsequ
ent 3-dimensional tissue organization. In human endothelial cells there is
a marked induction of gamma-catenin levels when cells reach confluence. We
demonstrate that expression of a dominant negative ras gene product (N17ras
) via adenoviral mediated gene transfer inhibits the confluent-dependent ri
se in gamma-catenin mRNA and protein levels. Consistent with its effects on
overall gamma-catenin levels, expression of N17ras also reduces the amount
of gamma-catenin associated with the adherens junction. Finally, although
expression of N17ras under normal culture conditions produces no clear morp
hological phenotype, endothelial cells expressing a dominant negative ras g
ene product fail to form 3-dimensional, vascular-like structures when plate
d on reconstituted extracellular matrix, (C) 1999 Academic Press.