Cell–cell adhesion complexes are essential for the formation of complex animal tissues. β-catenin is part of a protein complex that form adherens junctions. These cell–cell adhesion complexes are necessary for the creation and maintenance of epithelial cell layers and barriers. As a component of the complex, β-catenin can regulate cell growth and adhesion between cells. It may also be responsible for transmitting the contact inhibition signal that causes cells to stop dividing once the epithelial sheet is complete. The E-cadherin – β-catenin – α-catenin complex is weakly associated to actin filaments. Adherens junctions require significant protein dynamics in order to link to the actin cytoskeleton,
