Document Type
Article
Publication Date
9-16-2009
Abstract
N-glycosylation of E-cadherin has been shown to inhibit cell-cell adhesion. Specifically, our recent studies have provided evidence that the reduction of E-cadherin N-glycosylation promoted the recruitment of stabilizing components, vinculin and serine/threonine protein phosphatase 2A (PP2A), to adherens junctions (AJs) and enhanced the association of AJs with the actin cytoskeleton. Here, we examined the details of how N-glycosylation of E-cadherin affected the molecular organization of AJs and their cytoskeletal interactions. Using the hypoglycosylated E-cadherin variant, V13, we show that V13/β-catenin complexes preferentially interacted with PP2A and with the microtubule motor protein dynein. This correlated with dephosphorylation of the microtubule-associated protein tau, suggesting that increased association of PP2A with V13-containing AJs promoted their tethering to microtubules. On the other hand V13/γ-catenin complexes associated more with vinculin, suggesting that they mediated the interaction of AJs with the actin cytoskeleton. N-glycosylation driven changes in the molecular organization of AJs were physiologically significant because transfection of V13 into A253 cancer cells, lacking both mature AJs and tight junctions (TJs), promoted the formation of stable AJs and enhanced the function of TJs to a greater extent than wild-type E-cadherin. These studies provide the first mechanistic insights into how N-glycosylation of E-cadherin drives changes in AJ composition through the assembly of distinct β-catenin- and γ-catenin-containing scaffolds that impact the interaction with different cytoskeletal components.
Recommended Citation
Jamal, Basem T; Nita-Lazar, Mihai; Gao, Zhennan; Amin, Bakr; Walker, Janice; and Kukuruzinska, Maria A, "N-glycosylation status of E-cadherin controls cytoskeletal dynamics through the organization of distinct β-catenin- and γ-catenin-containing AJs." (2009). Department of Pathology, Anatomy, and Cell Biology Faculty Papers. Paper 88.
https://jdc.jefferson.edu/pacbfp/88
PubMed ID
20502620
Comments
This article has been peer reviewed and is published in Cell Health and Cytoskeleton 2009 Sep 16;2009(1):67-80. The published version is available at DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.2147/CHC.S5965. ©Dove Medical Press Ltd.