 In cardiac muscle, beta-catenin forms a complex with N-cadherin at adherens junctions within intercalated disc structures, which are responsible for electrical and mechanical coupling of adjacent cardiac cells.Studies in a model of adult rat ventricular cardiomyocytes have shown that the appearance and distribution of beta-catenin is spatio-temporally regulated during the redifferentiation of these cells in culture.Specifically, beta-catenin is part of a distinct complex with N-cadherin and alpha-catenin, which is abundant at adherens junctions in early stages following cardiomyocyte isolation for the reformation of cell-cell contacts.