Identification of a role for beta-catenin in the establishment of a bipolar mitotic spindle.
Journal Article (Journal Article)
beta-Catenin is a multifunctional protein that is known to participate in two well defined cellular processes, cell-cell adhesion and Wnt-stimulated transcriptional activation. Here we report that beta-catenin participates in a third cellular process, the establishment of a bipolar mitotic spindle. During mitosis, beta-catenin relocalizes to mitotic spindle poles and to the midbody. Furthermore, biochemical fractionation demonstrates the presence of beta-catenin in purified centrosome preparations. Reduction of cellular beta-catenin by RNA interference leads to the failure of centrosomes to fully separate, resulting in a marked increase in the frequency of monoastral mitotic spindles. Our results define a new and important function for beta-catenin in mitosis and demonstrate that beta-catenin is involved in vital biological processes beyond cell adhesion and Wnt signaling.
Full Text
Duke Authors
Cited Authors
- Kaplan, DD; Meigs, TE; Kelly, P; Casey, PJ
Published Date
- March 19, 2004
Published In
Volume / Issue
- 279 / 12
Start / End Page
- 10829 - 10832
PubMed ID
- 14744872
International Standard Serial Number (ISSN)
- 0021-9258
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
- 10.1074/jbc.C400035200
Language
- eng
Conference Location
- United States