The catenins are ubiquitously expressed, cytoplasmic proteins that associate with E-cadherin at cellular junctions. Catenin/cadherin complexes play an important role in mediating cellular adhesion. alpha T-catenin, also referred to as VR22, is a 895-amino acid protein that is most abundantally expressed in cardiomyocytes and in the peritubular myoid cells of the testis. alpha T-catenin binds to alpha E-catenin as well as to beta-catenin, and it functions to inhibit Wnt signaling. CTNNA3, the gene that encodes for alpha-T-catenin, is located on chromosome 10, and mutations in this gene show a strong correlation to late-onset Alzheimer's disease (LOAD) as well as to dilated cardiomyopathy.
Function:
May be involved in formation of stretch-resistant cell-cell adhesion complexes.
Subcellular Location:
Cytoplasm; cytoskeleton. Localizes to intercalated disks of cardiomyocytes and in peritubular myoid cells of testis, and colocalizes with CTNNA1 and CTNNA2.
Tissue Specificity:
Predominantly expressed in heart and testis. Expressed at lower levels in brain, kidney, liver and skeletal muscle.
Similarity:
Belongs to the vinculin/alpha-catenin family.
SWISS:
Q9UI47
Gene ID:
29119
Database links:
Entrez Gene: 29110 Human
Entrez Gene: 29119 Human
Entrez Gene: 216033 Mouse
Entrez Gene: 361839 Rat
Omim: 607667 Human
SwissProt: Q9UHD2 Human
SwissProt: Q9UI47 Human
SwissProt: Q65CL1 Mouse
Unigene: 660362 Human
Unigene: 444692 Mouse
Unigene: 223553 Rat
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