γ-Catenin Antibody from BIOLEGEND

γ-Catenin, also called plakoglobin or JUP, is a member of the armadillo family of signaling molecules. γ-Catenin plays an important role in cell adhesion with α-catenin and β-catenin, participates in Wnt signaling, embryonic development and tumorigenesis. Though β-catenin and γ-Catenin share sequence homology, γ-catenin has distinct N- and C-terminal regions which imparts distinct functions through interaction with various protein partners. Recent evidence indicates that γ-Catenin modulates desmosomal adhesion in response to growth factor stimulation. Transgenic mice homozygous with a null mutation of the γ-Catenin gene die during the embryonic stage, approximately on the 12th day of development, due to significant abnormalities in the adherens junctions and the absence of properly functioning desmosomes in the heart. The alteration of the γ-Catenin gene has been suggested as a contributing factor in the development of the heart disease called arrhythmogenic right ventricular dysplasia (ARVD) or arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy. Specifically, the mutations in γ-Catenin result in an autosomal recessive type of the disease known as Naxos disease.