Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2003 Mar;94(3):225-9.
doi: 10.1111/j.1349-7006.2003.tb01424.x.

Tumor formation by genetic mutations in the components of the Wnt signaling pathway

Akira Kikuchi  1
Affiliations
Review

Tumor formation by genetic mutations in the components of the Wnt signaling pathway

Akira Kikuchi. Cancer Sci. 2003 Mar.

Abstract

The genetics of development and cancer have converged in the identification of intra- and extra-cellular signaling pathways that are aberrantly regulated in cancer, and are also central to embryonic patterning. The Wnt signaling pathway has provided an outstanding example of this. The genes for beta-catenin, APC, and Axin in the Wnt signaling pathway are often mutated in human cancers. In all such cases, the common denominator is the activation of gene transcription by beta-catenin. The resulting gene expression profile should provide a significant clue to the developmental mechanisms of cancers carrying defects in the Wnt signaling pathway. In this review, the functions of beta-catenin, APC and Axin, and the alterations of the three genes in human cancers are described.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Wodarz A, Nusser R. Mechanisms of Wnt signaling in development. Annu Rev Cell Dev Biol 1998; 14: 59–88. - PubMed
    1. Polakis P. Wnt signaling and cancer. Genes Dev 2000; 14: 1837–51. - PubMed
    1. Ikeda S, Kishida S, Yamamoto H, Murai H, Koyama S, Kikuchi A. Axin, a negative regulator of the Wnt signaling pathway, forms a complex with GSK‐3β and β‐catenin and promotes GSK‐3β‐dependent phosphorylation of β‐catenin. EMBO J 1998; 17: 1371–84. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Kikuchi A. Roles of Axin in the Wnt signalling pathway. Cell Signal 1999; 11: 777–88. - PubMed
    1. Liu C, Li Y, Semenov M, Han C, Baeg G‐H, Tan Y, Zhang Z, Lin X, He X. Control of β‐catenin phosphorylation/degradation by a dual‐kinase mechanism. Cell 2002; 108: 837–47. - PubMed

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources