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Updated: May 24, 2026

Reconstitution Of β-catenin Degradation In Xenopus Egg Extract
Published on: June 17, 2014
β-catenin is a molecular switch that regulates transition of cell-cell adhesion to fusion
Youki Takezawa1, Keiichi Yoshida, Kenji Miyado
1Department of Reproductive Biology, National Center for Child Health and Development, 2-10-1 Okura, Setagaya, Tokyo 157-8535, Japan.
Abstract:
When a sperm and an oocyte unite upon fertilization, their cell membranes adhere and fuse, but little is known about the factors regulating sperm-oocyte adhesion. Here we explored the role of β-catenin in sperm-oocyte adhesion. Biochemical analysis revealed that E-cadherin and β-catenin formed a complex in oocytes and also in sperm. Sperm-oocyte adhesion was impaired when β-catenin-deficient oocytes were inseminated with sperm. Furthermore, expression of β-catenin decreased from the sperm head and the site of an oocyte to which a sperm adheres after completion of sperm-oocyte adhesion. UBE1-41, an inhibitor of ubiquitin-activating enzyme 1, inhibited the degradation of β-catenin, and reduced the fusing ability of wild-type (but not β-catenin-deficient) oocytes. These results indicate that β-catenin is not only involved in membrane adhesion, but also in the transition to membrane fusion upon fertilization.
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