Biolegend, 946404, Alexa Fluor® 647 anti-γ-Catenin Antibody

γ-catenin, also referred to as JUP and plakoglobin, is a member of the Armadillo family of proteins that are required for Wnt signaling. γ-catenin was originally described as a structural component of desmosomes and adherens junctions, where it links E-cadherins to the actin cytoskeleton. The presence of this complex is critical for cell migration and adhesion. While γ-catenin shows high overall similarity to the homolologous β-catenin, notably in the armadillo domain rich central region, γ-catenin has distinct N- and C-terminal regions, which allows interaction with protein partners functionally distinct with those of other catenins. Additionally, γ-catenin shows tumor suppressor activity by downregulation of oncogenic Wnt signaling. This negative regulation occurs through multiple mechanisms: a. displacement of β-catenin from junctional complexes thereby promoting its ubiquitin-dependent degradation, b. disrupting formation of the TCF- β-catenin transcriptional activator complex by directly binding β-catenin, c. stimulating the nuclear export of the SOX4 transcription factor. γ-catenin also plays a role in maintaining embryonic stem cells in a pluripotent state.