Crystal Structure of a Full-Length [beta]-Catenin
- UW-MED
{beta}-catenin plays essential roles in cell adhesion and Wnt signaling, while deregulation of {beta}-catenin is associated with multiple diseases including cancers. Here, we report the crystal structures of full-length zebrafish {beta}-catenin and a human {beta}-catenin fragment that contains both the armadillo repeat and the C-terminal domains. Our structures reveal that the N-terminal region of the C-terminal domain, a key component of the C-terminal transactivation domain, forms a long {alpha} helix that packs on the C-terminal end of the armadillo repeat domain, and thus forms part of the {beta}-catenin superhelical core. The existence of this helix redefines our view of interactions of {beta}-catenin with some of its critical partners, including ICAT and Chibby, which may form extensive interactions with this C-terminal domain {alpha} helix. Our crystallographic and NMR studies also suggest that the unstructured N-terminal and C-terminal tails interact with the ordered armadillo repeat domain in a dynamic and variable manner.
- Research Organization:
- Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States). Advanced Photon Source (APS)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE
- OSTI ID:
- 1006706
- Journal Information:
- Structure, Vol. 16, Issue (3) ; 03, 2008
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- ENGLISH
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