Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 30, 2026

Bead Aggregation Assays for the Characterization of Putative Cell Adhesion Molecules
Published on: October 17, 2014
Novel membrane protein shrew-1 targets to cadherin-mediated junctions in polarized epithelial cells
Sanita Bharti1, Heike Handrow-Metzmacher, Silvia Zickenheiner
1Humangenetik fuer Biologen, Johann Wolfgang Goethe-Universität, D-60054 Frankfurt, Germany.
Abstract:
While searching for potential candidate molecules relevant for the pathogenesis of endometriosis, we discovered a 2910-base pair cDNA encoding a novel putative 411-amino acid integral membrane protein that we called shrew-1. The putative open-reading frame was confirmed with antibodies against shrew-1 peptides that labeled a protein of approximately 48 kDa in extracts of shrew-1 mRNA-positive tissue and also detected ectopically expressed shrew-1. Expression of epitope-tagged shrew-1 in epithelial cells and analysis by surface biotinylation and immunoblots demonstrated that shrew-1 is indeed a transmembrane protein. Shrew-1 is able to target to E-cadherin-mediated adherens junctions and interact with the E-cadherin-catenin complex in polarized MCF7 and Madin-Darby canine kidney cells, but not with the N-cadherin-catenin complex in nonpolarized epithelial cells. Direct interaction of shrew-1 with beta-catenin in in vitro pull-down assay suggests that beta-catenin might be one of the proteins that targets and/or retains shrew-1 in the adherens junctions. Interestingly, shrew-1 was partially translocated in response to scatter factor (ligand of receptor tyrosine kinase c-met) from the plasma membrane to the cytoplasm where it still colocalized with endogenous E-cadherin. In summary, we introduce shrew-1 as a novel component of adherens junctions, interacting with E-cadherin-beta-catenin complexes in polarized epithelial cells.
More Related Videos
12:15The C. elegans Intestine As a Model for Intercellular Lumen Morphogenesis and In Vivo Polarized Membrane Biogenesis at the Single-cell Level: Labeling by Antibody Staining, RNAi Loss-of-function Analysis and Imaging
Published on: October 3, 2017
07:26Quantitative PCR-based Assay to Measure Sonic Hedgehog Signaling in Cellular Model of Ciliogenesis
Published on: January 31, 2025
Related Concept Videos
Structure of Cadherins
Adherens Junctions
Adherens Junctions are Dynamic
The endothelial cells...
Cadherins in Tissue Organization
Cell Sorting During Development
Cell sorting plays an...
Catenins
Catenins in Cell Junctions
Catenins bind to cell adhesion molecules such as cadherins and link them to different cytoskeletal proteins depending on the type of cell junction. At the adherens...
Types of Membrane Protrusions
The microvilli, an example of stable protrusions, are finger-like projections with a...
Anchoring Junctions