The aim is to study how serum concentration of Dickkopf-1 (DKK1) and Sclerostin (SOST) varies in patients before and after undergoing total joint arthroplasty (TJA). A total of 104 patients undergoing TJA were included in this study. Serum DKK1 and SOST were measured at 1 day before and 1, 3, and 5 days after surgery. DKK1 levels were highest at 5 days' postoperation, increasing to 25.17% above...

We used primary cultures of cortical neurons to examine the relationship between beta-amyloid toxicity and hyperphosphorylation of the tau protein, the biochemical substrate for neurofibrillary tangles of Alzheimer's brain. Exposure of the cultures to beta-amyloid peptide (betaAP) induced the expression of the secreted glycoprotein Dickkopf-1 (DKK1). DKK1 negatively modulates the canonical Wnt ...

Gestational choriocarcinoma is a high-grade malignant tumor. In this study, the effects of Dickkopf-1 (DKK1) on a human trophoblast cell line was examined by using both in vitro and in vivo assays. DKK1 was observed to induce apoptosis and inhibit proliferation in JEG3 and BeWo cells. Moreover, DKK1 suppressed tumor growth in established xenograft tumor models. In western blot assays, DKK1 was ...

Bone morphogenetic protein 9 (BMP9) is a potent inducer of osteogenic differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells. The Wnt antagonist Dickkopf-1 (Dkk1) is involved in skeletal development and bone remodeling. Here, we investigated the role of Dkk1 in BMP9-induced osteogenic differentiation of MSCs. We found that overexpression of BMP9 induced Dkk1 expression in a dose-dependent manner, which was ...

The expression patterns of the Dickkopf (Dkk) family of proteins varies in different cancers. In the present study, the expression levels of Dkk1 and Dkk3 were investigated in clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) tissues. Dkk1 and Dkk3 serum levels were also examined in patients with ccRCC, and the association between clinicopathological features and Dkk levels was investigated. Serum Dkk1 a...

Dickkopf1 (Dkk1) is a Wnt/β-catenin inhibitor that participates in many processes during embryonic development. One of its roles during embryogenesis is to induce head formation, since Dkk1-null mice lack head structures anterior to midbrain. The Wnt/β-catenin pathway is also known to regulate different aspects of ventral midbrain (VM) dopaminergic (DA) neuron development and, in vitro, Dkk1-me...

BACKGROUND Modulation of cellular signaling pathways can change the replication/differentiation balance in cancer stem cells (CSCs), thus affecting tumor growth and recurrence. Analysis of a simple, experimentally verified, mathematical model suggests that this balance is maintained by quorum sensing (QS). METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS To explore the mechanism by which putative QS cellular s...

INTRODUCTION Wnt/β-catenin signaling activation has been reported only during the late steps of Barrett's esophagus (BE) neoplastic progression, but not in BE metaplasia, based on the absence of nuclear β-catenin. However, β-catenin transcriptional activity has been recorded in absence of robust nuclear accumulation. Thus, we aimed to investigate the Wnt/β-catenin signaling in nondysplastic BE....

The Wnt-LPR5 signalling pathway plays an important role in skeletal homeostasis, especially in regulating osteoblastic activity. Activation of this pathway is regulated by various inhibitors, including DKK1. The objective of this study was to evaluate DKK1 levels in patients with ischemic heart disease, the response to atorvastatin and the relationship with bone mass. Twenty-one patients with a...

We constructed the human dickkopf 1 (DKK1) eukaryotic expression plasmid and expressed, purified, and identified its expression product. We extracted cancer cells from cervical cancer tissue, followed by extraction of mRNA. Reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction was conducted to obtain DKK1 gene fragments. Using these fragments, we prepared the recombinant plasmid pCMV-HA2/DKK1. The re...