The plakoglobin knock-out mouse: A paradigm for the molecular analysis of cardiac cell junction formation

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Item Type:	Article
Title:	The plakoglobin knock-out mouse: A paradigm for the molecular analysis of cardiac cell junction formation
Creators Name:	Ruiz, P. and Birchmeier, W.
Abstract:	Plakoglobin (gamma-catenin), a member of the armadillo family of proteins, is a constituent of the cytoplasmic plaques of desmosomes and adherens junctions and is involved in anchorage of cytoskeletal filaments to specific cadherins. When the plakoglobin gene is ablated in mice, animals die between days 12 and 16 of embryogenesis owing to defects in heart function. Often, their heart ventricles burst, and pericardial tamponade appears to be the immediate cause of death. This tissue instability correlates with the absence of desmosomes and a redistribution of desmosomal proteins in heart, but not in epithelial organs. Plakoglobin is an essential component of cardiac desmosomes and plays a crucial role in the architecture and stabilization of heart tissue.
Source:	Trends in Cardiovascular Medicine
ISSN:	1050-1738
Publisher:	Elsevier
Volume:	8
Number:	3
Page Range:	97-101
Date:	April 1998
Official Publication:	https://doi.org/10.1016/S1050-1738(97)00141-2
PubMed:	View item in PubMed

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