The catenins, å, ∫ and ©, are proteins which bind to the highly conserved, intracellular cytoplasmic tail of E-cadherin. Together, the catenin/cadherin complexes play an important role mediating cellular adhesion. å-catenin was initially described as an E-cadherin associated protein, and since has been shown to associate with other members of the cadherin family, such as N-cadherin and P-cadherin. ∫-catenin associates with the cytoplasmic portion of E-cadherin, which is necessary for the function of E-cadherin as an adhesion molecule. ∫-catenin has also been found in complexes with the tumor suppressor protein APC. ©-catenin, also known as plakoglobin, binds with å-catenin and N-cadherin. It has been shown that the transmembrane phosphatase PTPµ associates with catenin/cadherin complexes and may regulate complex signaling.