Wnt signaling: is the party in the nucleus?

K Willert, KA Jones - Genes & development, 2006 - genesdev.cshlp.org
K Willert, KA Jones
Genes & development, 2006genesdev.cshlp.org
The Wnt signaling pathway controls cell proliferation and body patterning throughout
development. A surprising number of cytoplasmic Wnt regulators (eg, β-catenin, Bcl-9/Lgs,
APC, Axin) also appear, often transiently, in the nucleus. β-Catenin is an integral component
of E-cadherin complexes at intercellular adherens junctions, but also recruits chromatin
remodeling complexes to activate transcription in the nucleus. The APC tumor suppressor is
a part of the cytoplasmic β-catenin destruction complex, yet also counteracts β-catenin …
The Wnt signaling pathway controls cell proliferation and body patterning throughout development. A surprising number of cytoplasmic Wnt regulators (e.g., β-catenin, Bcl-9/Lgs, APC, Axin) also appear, often transiently, in the nucleus. β-Catenin is an integral component of E-cadherin complexes at intercellular adherens junctions, but also recruits chromatin remodeling complexes to activate transcription in the nucleus. The APC tumor suppressor is a part of the cytoplasmic β-catenin destruction complex, yet also counteracts β-catenin transactivation and histone H3K4 methylation at Wnt target genes. Furthermore, APC coordinates the cyclic exchange of Wnt coregulator complexes at the DNA. These opposing roles of APC and β-catenin enable a rapid coordination of gene expression and cytoskeletal organization throughout the cell in response to signaling.
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