Cancer cells are the site of numerous metabolic and thermodynamic abnormalities. We focus this review on the interactions between the canonical WNT/beta-catenin pathway and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPAR gamma) in cancers and their implications from an energetic and metabolic point of view. In numerous tissues, PPAR gamma activation induces inhibition of beta-catenin pat...

Beta-catenin is an essential component of two cellular systems: cadherin-based adherens junctions (AJ) and the Wnt signaling pathway. A functional or physical connection between these beta-catenin pools has been suggested in previous studies, but not conclusively demonstrated to date. To further examine this intersection, we treated A431 cell colonies with lysophosphatidic acid (LPA), which for...

htp:/ D ow nladed fom Because the Wnt/b-catenin signaling pathway is linked to melanoma pathogenesis and to patient survival, we conducted a kinome small interfering RNA (siRNA) screen in melanoma cells to expand our understanding of the kinases that regulate this pathway. We found that BRAF signaling, which is constitutively activated in many melanomas by the BRAF mutation, inhibits Wnt/b-cate...

-Catenin, an integral part of cadherin-catenin adhesion complexes, is a major binding partner of -catenin, a key component of the Wnt pathway, which activates T-cell factor (TCF)/lymphoid enhancer factor (LEF) transcription and is often upregulated in cancers. Recently, we identified an -catenin-related protein, -catulin, whose function is poorly understood, as part of a Rho GTPase signaling co...

In Xenopus, two signaling systems, maternal beta-Catenin and Nodal-related, are required for induction of the Spemann organizer and establishment of the body plan. By screening cDNA macroarrays for genes activated by these two signaling pathways, we identified Xenopus xBtg-x, a novel member of the Btg/Tob gene family of antiproliferative proteins. We show that xBtg-x is expressed in the dorsal ...

WNT signaling pathway is implicated in carcinogenesis, embryogenesis and organogenesis [4]. WNTs are a family of secreted-type glycoproteins with 22∼24 conserved cysteine residues. WNT signals are transduced through seven-transmembrane-type WNT receptors encoded by Frizzled (FZD) genes to the β-catenin TCF pathway, the JNK pathway, or the Ca2+-releasing pathway. Gain-of-function mutations of po...

Armstrong, Dustin D., and Karyn A. Esser. Wnt/ -catenin signaling activates growth-control genes during overload-induced skeletal muscle hypertrophy. Am J Physiol Cell Physiol 289: C853–C859, 2005. First published May 11, 2005; doi:10.1152/ajpcell.00093.2005.— -Catenin is a transcriptional activator shown to regulate the embryonic, postnatal, and oncogenic growth of many tissues. In most resear...

The presenilins (PSs) 1 are part of the molecular machinery responsible for cleaving proteins like the ␤-amyloid precursor protein (APP) and Notch in the plane of the membrane (Annaert and De Strooper, 1999). Mutations in PS1 are one of the major causes of familiar Alzheimer's disease. PSs are also involved in regulating the Wnt/ ␤-catenin signaling pathway, but how exactly remains a highly con...

-Catenin is a cytoplasmic protein that participates in the assembly of cell-cell adherens junctions by binding cadherins to the actin cytoskeleton. In addition, it is a key component of the Wnt signaling pathway. Activation of this pathway triggers the accumulation of -catenin in the nucleus, where it activates the transcription of target genes. Abnormal accumulation of -catenin is characterist...