Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: EC:2.7.11.26 (GSK)
 6,788 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Beta-Catenin is a key regulator of the cadherin-mediated cell-cell adhesion system and an important element in the Wnt signal transduction pathway. Stabilization and accumulation of cytoplasmic beta-catenin, which result from mutations in either the adenomatous polyposis coli or beta-catenin genes, are causatively associated with colon carcinogenesis. In the present study, we examined the expression of beta-catenin in rat colon tumors induced by azoxymethane in comparison with adjacent normal colon mucosa by immunostaining and immunoblotting. Cytoplasmic and nuclear immunostaining was pronounced in all colon adenoma and carcinoma tissues, whereas antibody binding was limited to membranes at the intercellular borders in normal colon epithelial cells. Increase of the free beta-catenin fraction in tumor cells was also indicated by immunoblot analysis of fractionated tissue lysates. Investigation of mutations in the glycogen synthase kinase-3beta phosphorylation consensus motif of the beta-catenin gene by PCR-single strand conformation polymorphism methods and direct sequencing revealed eight mutations in six of the eight colon carcinomas, and seven of these were shown to be G:C to A:T transitions, with five being CTGGA to CTGAA. Such frequent mutations of the beta-catenin gene in azoxymethane-induced rat colon tumors suggest that consequent alterations in the stability and localization of the protein may play an important role in this colon carcinogenesis model.
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PMID:Beta-catenin is frequently mutated and demonstrates altered cellular location in azoxymethane-induced rat colon tumors. 942 55

The beta-catenin, glycogen synthase kinase 3beta (GSK-3beta), and adenomatous polyposis coli (APC) gene products interact to form a network that influences the rate of cell proliferation. Medulloblastoma occurs as part of Turcot's syndrome, and patients with Turcot's who develop medulloblastomas have been shown to harbor germ-line APC mutations. Although APC mutations have been investigated and not identified in sporadic medulloblastomas, the status of the beta-catenin and GSK-3beta genes has not been evaluated in this tumor. Here we show that 3 of 67 medulloblastomas harbor beta-catenin mutations, each of which converts a GSK-3beta phosphorylation site from serine to cysteine. The beta-catenin mutation seen in the tumors was not present in matched constitutional DNA in the two cases where matched DNA was available. A loss of heterozygosity analysis of 32 medulloblastomas with paired normal DNA samples was performed with four microsatellite markers flanking the GSK-3beta locus; loss of heterozygosity with at least one marker was identified in 7 tumors. Sequencing of the remaining GSK-3beta allele in these cases failed to identify any mutations. Taken together, these data suggest that activating mutations in the beta-catenin gene may be involved in the development of a subset of medulloblastomas. The GSK-3beta gene does not appear to be a target for inactivation in this tumor.
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PMID:Sporadic medulloblastomas contain oncogenic beta-catenin mutations. 950 Apr 46

Axin antagonizes the developmental effects of Wnt in vertebrates. We show here that Axin simultaneously binds two components of the Wnt pathway, beta-catenin and its negative regulator glycogen synthase kinase-3beta. In mammalian cells, Axin inhibits Wnt-1 stimulation of beta-catenin/lymphoid enhancer factor 1-dependent transcription. Axin also blocks beta-catenin-mediated transcription in colon cancer cells that have a mutation in the adenomatous polyposis coli gene. These findings suggest that Axin, by forming a complex with beta-catenin and glycogen synthase kinase-3beta, can block signaling stimulated by Wnt or by adenomatous polyposis coli mutations.
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PMID:Bridging of beta-catenin and glycogen synthase kinase-3beta by axin and inhibition of beta-catenin-mediated transcription. 950 Dec 8

Mutation of the adenomatous polyposis coli (APC) tumor suppressor gene initiates the majority of colorectal (CR) cancers. One consequence of this inactivation is constitutive activation of beta-catenin/Tcf-mediated transcription. To further explore the role of the APC/beta-catenin/Tcf pathway in CR tumorigenesis, we searched for mutations in genes implicated in this pathway in CR tumors lacking APC mutations. No mutations of the gamma-catenin (CTNNG1), GSK-3alpha (GSK3A), or GSK-3beta (GSK3B) genes were detected. In contrast, mutations in the NH2-terminal regulatory domain of beta-catenin (CTNNB1) were found in 13 of 27 (48%) CR tumors lacking APC mutations. Mutations in the beta-catenin regulatory domain and APC were observed to be mutually exclusive, consistent with their equivalent effects on beta-catenin stability and Tcf transactivation. In addition, we found that CTNNB1 mutations can occur in the early, adenomatous stage of CR neoplasia, as has been observed previously with APC mutations. These results suggest that CTNNB1 mutations can uniquely substitute for APC mutations in CR tumors and that beta-catenin signaling plays a critical role in CR tumorigenesis.
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PMID:Mutational analysis of the APC/beta-catenin/Tcf pathway in colorectal cancer. 951 95

The cell undergoes a diverse range of stimulations including growth factor activation and signal transduction from adhesion receptors, such as cadherins. In the absence of a mitogenic signal from outside the cell, beta catenin is sequestered in complexes with the product of the adenomatous polyposis coli (APC) gene and a serine threonine glycogen kinase (GSK 3 beta) enabling degradation of free beta catenin. Residual catenins hold cells together by binding to cadherins both at adherens junctions and the actin cytoskeleton. When a mitotic signal is delivered by the wnt pathway, GSK 3 beta is antagonised so that beta catenin can no longer be degraded. Cytosolic concentrations rise and binding to other newly synthesised proteins occurs, especially transcription factors that are transported to the nucleus, such as lymphocyte enhancing factor and T cell factor. This article discusses the signalling between mitogenic and adhesion pathways and suggests that it is a global mechanism for development, differentiation, and disease. These changes in catenin and APC biology may not be sufficient alone to transform cells fully but they appear to be a necessary final common pathway for several cancers of the mucous secreting crypts (including Barrett's oesophageal lesions and colorectal cancer) or stratified secreting epithelium (melanoma) before invasion.
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PMID:Cadherin and catenin biology represent a global mechanism for epithelial cancer progression. 953 77

The regulators of G protein signaling (RGS) domain of Axin, a negative regulator of the Wnt signaling pathway, made a complex with full-length adenomatous polyposis coli (APC) in COS, 293, and L cells but not with truncated APC in SW480 or DLD-1 cells. The RGS domain directly interacted with the region containing the 20-amino acid repeats but not with that containing the 15-amino acid repeats of APC, although both regions are known to bind to beta-catenin. In the region containing seven 20-amino acid repeats, the region containing the latter five repeats bound to the RGS domain of Axin. Axin and beta-catenin simultaneously interacted with APC. Furthermore, Axin stimulated the degradation of beta-catenin in COS cells. Taken together with our recent observations that Axin directly interacts with glycogen synthase kinase-3beta (GSK-3beta) and beta-catenin and that it promotes GSK-3beta-dependent phosphorylation of beta-catenin, these results suggest that Axin, APC, GSK-3beta, and beta-catenin make a tetrameric complex, resulting in the regulation of the stabilization of beta-catenin.
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PMID:Axin, a negative regulator of the wnt signaling pathway, directly interacts with adenomatous polyposis coli and regulates the stabilization of beta-catenin. 955 53

Beta-catenin forms complexes with Tcf and Lef-1 and functions as a transcriptional activator downstream of the Wnt signaling pathway. Activation of the pathway by stabilization of beta-catenin has been shown to be important in the development of colorectal carcinoma, which is mainly caused by inactivating mutations of the adenomatous polyposis coli tumor suppressor gene or by activating mutations in exon 3 of the beta-catenin gene. Here, we analyzed mutations in exon 3 of the beta-catenin gene in endometrial carcinoma cases in which loss of heterozygosity at the adenomatous polyposis coli tumor suppressor gene locus has been rarely reported. We found that 10 of 76 cases had beta-catenin gene mutations. All mutations identified were single-base missense mutations on serine/threonine residues (codons 33, 37, 41, and 45), altering the glycogen synthase kinase-3beta phosphorylation consensus motif, which participates in the degradation of beta-catenin. To determine whether these beta-catenin mutations actually led to stabilization of this protein, expression of beta-catenin was analyzed immunohistochemically, and 9 of 10 cases with the beta-catenin mutation and 20 of 66 cases without it showed accumulation of beta-catenin in the cytoplasm and/or nucleus. In total, 38% of cases showed accumulation of beta-catenin. These data indicate that stabilization of beta-catenin due to mutations in exon 3 of the beta-catenin gene and other mechanisms may have an important role in development of endometrial carcinomas.
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PMID:Beta-catenin mutation in carcinoma of the uterine endometrium. 972 53

The interaction between beta-catenin and LEF-1/TCF transcription factors plays a pivotal role in the Wnt-1 signaling pathway. The level of beta-catenin is regulated by partner proteins, including glycogen synthase kinase-3beta (GSK-3beta) and the adenomatous polyposis coli (APC) tumor suppressor protein. Genetic defects in APC are responsible for a heritable predisposition to colon cancer. APC protein and GSK-3beta bind beta-catenin, retain it in the cytoplasm, and facilitate the proteolytic degradation of beta-catenin. Abrogation of this negative regulation allows beta-catenin to translocate to the nucleus and to form a transcriptional activator complex with the DNA-binding protein lymphoid-enhancing factor 1 (LEF-1). This complex is thought to be involved in tumorigenesis. Here we show that covalent linkage of LEF-1 to beta-catenin and to transcriptional activation domains derived from the estrogen receptor or the herpes simplex virus protein VP16 generates transcriptional regulators that induce oncogenic transformation of chicken embryo fibroblasts. The chimeras between LEF-1 and beta-catenin or VP16 are constitutively active, whereas fusions of LEF-1 to the estrogen receptor are regulatable by estrogen. These experiments document the oncogenicity of transactivating LEF-1 and show that the transactivation domain normally provided by beta-catenin can be replaced by heterologous activation domains. These results suggest that the transactivating function of the LEF-1/beta-catenin complex is critical for tumorigenesis and that this complex transforms cells by activating specific LEF-1 target genes.
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PMID:Nuclear endpoint of Wnt signaling: neoplastic transformation induced by transactivating lymphoid-enhancing factor 1. 987 85

Axin is a negative regulator of embryonic axis formation in vertebrates, which acts through a Wnt signal transduction pathway involving the serine/threonine kinase GSK-3 and beta-catenin. Axin has been shown to have distinct binding sites for GSK-3 and beta-catenin and to promote the phosphorylation of beta-catenin and its consequent degradation. This provides an explanation for the ability of Axin to inhibit signaling through beta-catenin. In addition, a more N-terminal region of Axin binds to adenomatous polyposis coli (APC), a tumor suppressor protein that also regulates levels of beta-catenin. Here, we report the results of a yeast two-hybrid screen for proteins that interact with the C-terminal third of Axin, a region in which no binding sites for other proteins have previously been identified. We found that Axin can bind to the catalytic subunit of the serine/threonine protein phosphatase 2A through a domain between amino acids 632 and 836. This interaction was confirmed by in vitro binding studies as well as by co-immunoprecipitation of epitope-tagged proteins expressed in cultured cells. Our results suggest that protein phosphatase 2A might interact with the Axin.APC.GSK-3.beta-catenin complex, where it could modulate the effect of GSK-3 on beta-catenin or other proteins in the complex. We also identified a region of Axin that may allow it to form dimers or multimers. Through two-hybrid and co-immunoprecipitation studies, we demonstrated that the C-terminal 100 amino acids of Axin could bind to the same region as other Axin molecules.
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PMID:Identification of a domain of Axin that binds to the serine/threonine protein phosphatase 2A and a self-binding domain. 992 Aug 88

beta-catenin plays an essential role in the Wingless/Wnt signaling cascade and is a component of the cadherin cell adhesion complex. Deregulation of beta-catenin accumulation as a result of mutations in adenomatous polyposis coli (APC) tumor suppressor protein is believed to initiate colorectal neoplasia. beta-catenin levels are regulated by the ubiquitin-dependent proteolysis system and beta-catenin ubiquitination is preceded by phosphorylation of its N-terminal region by the glycogen synthase kinase-3beta (GSK-3beta)/Axin kinase complex. Here we show that FWD1 (the mouse homologue of Slimb/betaTrCP), an F-box/WD40-repeat protein, specifically formed a multi-molecular complex with beta-catenin, Axin, GSK-3beta and APC. Mutations at the signal-induced phosphorylation site of beta-catenin inhibited its association with FWD1. FWD1 facilitated ubiquitination and promoted degradation of beta-catenin, resulting in reduced cytoplasmic beta-catenin levels. In contrast, a dominant-negative mutant form of FWD1 inhibited the ubiquitination process and stabilized beta-catenin. These results suggest that the Skp1/Cullin/F-box protein FWD1 (SCFFWD1)-ubiquitin ligase complex is involved in beta-catenin ubiquitination and that FWD1 serves as an intracellular receptor for phosphorylated beta-catenin. FWD1 also links the phosphorylation machinery to the ubiquitin-proteasome pathway to ensure prompt and efficient proteolysis of beta-catenin in response to external signals. SCFFWD1 may be critical for tumor development and suppression through regulation of beta-catenin protein stability.
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PMID:An F-box protein, FWD1, mediates ubiquitin-dependent proteolysis of beta-catenin. 1022 55


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