γ-catenin acts as a tumor suppressor in Colorectal Cancer in a context-dependent manner

γ-catenin (plakoglobin) is a protein closely related with ß-catenin. Overexpression of γ-catenin has been shown to suppress tumor formation independent of γ-catenin's function in cell-cell adhesion, but tumor-promoting effects have also been reported. To investigate into γ-catenin's role in colorectal cancer cells with and without endogenous expression of γ-catenin. In DLD-1 cells with high levels of γ-catenin, γ-catenin expression was silenced by siRNA. In γ-catenin negative RKO cells, a mutant, non-degradable form of γ-catenin was stably overexpressed. Knock-down of γ-catenin reduced Wnt-activity by 30%, where…