β‐catenin as a potential key target for tumor suppression

Y Fu, S Zheng, N An, T Athanasopoulos… - … journal of cancer, 2011 - Wiley Online Library
Y Fu, S Zheng, N An, T Athanasopoulos, L Popplewell, A Liang, K Li, C Hu, Y Zhu
International journal of cancer, 2011Wiley Online Library
Abstract β‐catenin is a multifunctional protein identified to be pivotal in embryonic
patterning, organogenesis and adult homeostasis. It plays a critical structural role in
mediating cadherin junctions and is also an essential transcriptional co‐activator in the
canonical Wnt pathway. Evidence has been documented that both the canonical Wnt
pathway and cadherin junctions are deregulated or impaired in a plethora of human
malignancies. In the light of this, there has been a recent surge in elucidating the …
Abstract
β‐catenin is a multifunctional protein identified to be pivotal in embryonic patterning, organogenesis and adult homeostasis. It plays a critical structural role in mediating cadherin junctions and is also an essential transcriptional co‐activator in the canonical Wnt pathway. Evidence has been documented that both the canonical Wnt pathway and cadherin junctions are deregulated or impaired in a plethora of human malignancies. In the light of this, there has been a recent surge in elucidating the mechanisms underlying the etiology of cancer development from the perspective of β‐catenin. Here, we focus on the emerging roles of β‐catenin in the process of tumorigenesis by discussing novel functions of old players and new proteins, mechanisms identified to mediate or interact with β‐catenin and the most recently unraveled clinical implications of β‐catenin regulatory pathways toward tumor suppression.
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