Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 18, 2026

Genetic Manipulation of Cerebellar Granule Neurons In Vitro and In Vivo to Study Neuronal Morphology and Migration
Published on: March 17, 2014
alphaE-catenin controls cerebral cortical size by regulating the hedgehog signaling pathway
Wen-Hui Lien1, Olga Klezovitch, Tania E Fernandez
1Division of Human Biology, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, WA 98109, USA.
Abstract:
During development, cells monitor and adjust their rates of accumulation to produce organs of predetermined size. We show here that central nervous system-specific deletion of the essential adherens junction gene, alphaE-catenin, causes abnormal activation of the hedgehog pathway, resulting in shortening of the cell cycle, decreased apoptosis, and cortical hyperplasia. We propose that alphaE-catenin connects cell-density-dependent adherens junctions with the developmental hedgehog pathway and that this connection may provide a negative feedback loop controlling the size of developing cerebral cortex.
Related Concept Videos
Cell Motility through Blebbing
Blebbing Through the Matrix
In multicellular...
Calmodulin-dependent Signaling
The Ca2+-CaM complex does not have enzymatic activity by itself. Instead, the complex binds downstream target proteins, including membrane proteins or enzymes,...
Intracellular Signaling Affects Focal Adhesions
Some...
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...
Cadherins in Tissue Organization
Cell Sorting During Development
Cell sorting plays an...
Tension Response at Adherens Junctions
α-Catenin as a Mechanosensory Protein
The α-catenin of adherens junctions is an allosteric protein with three VH (vinculin homology) domains...

