A presenilin-1/gamma-secretase cleavage releases the E-cadherin intracellular domain and regulates disassembly of adherens junctions.

E-cadherin controls a wide array of cellular behaviors including cell-cell adhesion, differentiation and tissue development. Here we show that presenilin-1 (PS1), a protein involved in Alzheimer's disease, controls a gamma-secretase-like cleavage of E-cadherin. This cleavage is stimulated by apoptosis or calcium influx and occurs between human E-cadherin residues Leu731 and ...
Arg732 at the membrane-cytoplasm interface. The PS1/gamma-secretase system cleaves both the full-length E-cadherin and a transmembrane C-terminal fragment, derived from a metalloproteinase cleavage after the E-cadherin ectodomain residue Pro700. The PS1/gamma-secretase cleavage dissociates E-cadherins, beta-catenin and alpha-catenin from the cytoskeleton, thus promoting disassembly of the E-cadherin-catenin adhesion complex. Furthermore, this cleavage releases the cytoplasmic E-cadherin to the cytosol and increases the levels of soluble beta- and alpha-catenins. Thus, the PS1/gamma-secretase system stimulates disassembly of the E-cadherin- catenin complex and increases the cytosolic pool of beta-catenin, a key regulator of the Wnt signaling pathway.
Mesh Terms:
Adherens Junctions, Amino Acid Sequence, Amyloid Precursor Protein Secretases, Animals, Aspartic Acid Endopeptidases, Binding Sites, Cadherins, Endopeptidases, Humans, Intracellular Fluid, Matrix Metalloproteinases, Membrane Proteins, Mice, Mice, Knockout, Molecular Sequence Data, Presenilin-1, Protein Processing, Post-Translational
EMBO J.
Date: Apr. 15, 2002
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