The Role of Drosophila α-Catenin in Growth Regulation and EMT

α-catenin (Drosophila α-Cat) links the cadherin-catenin complex to actomyosin at adherens junctions (AJs) in epithelial cells. I investigated the role of α-Cat in proliferation control and whether α-Cat acts as a mechanosensor at the AJs to regulate Hippo signaling. I showed that α-Cat has a dosage-dependent effect on proliferation and survival. α-Cat has distinct functions in growth regulation and adhesion, acting through JNK and the Hippo pathway. α-Cat null cells undergo EMT. Intermediate loss of α-Cat resulted in overgrowth. I found that α-Cat acts as an AJ component to regulate growth. Moreover, I showed that the mechanosensitive M region of α-Cat is dispensable for adhesion and proliferation control. My work identified a novel role for α-Cat as a growth regulator at the AJs, in addition to adhesion. This work will stimulate future investigations into how the α-Cat-centered protein network contributes to growth regulation in development and cancer progression.M.Sc.2018-11-30 00:00:0