Receptor for Activated C Kinase 1 (RACK1) Promotes Dishevelled Protein Degradation via Autophagy and Antagonizes Wnt Signaling

Wnt signaling plays a critical role in embryonic development, tissue homeostasis, and cancer development. Dishevelled (Dvl) is an essential and central component in Wnt signaling, and its stability and activity is tightly regulated. It has been shown that Dvl can be degraded via both the proteasome and autophagy-lysosome pathways. Here we report that receptor for activated C kinase 1 (RACK1) negatively regulates Dishevelled stability and Wnt signaling. RACK1 interacts with Dvl proteins and promotes their lysosomal degradation, and this effect is enhanced by autophagy induction. RACK1 also interacts with LC3 and enhances the association of LC3 with Dvl2, thereby leading to degradation of Dvl proteins through autophagy. These findings reveal a novel regulatory function of RACK1 in Wnt signaling by modulating Dvl stability.