Wnt/β-catenin signaling

The Wnt/Wingless signaling transduction pathway plays an important role in both embryonic development and tumorigenesis. beta-Catenin, a key component of the Wnt signaling pathway, interacts with the TCF/LEF family of transcription factors and activates transcription of Wnt target genes. Recent studies have revealed that a number of proteins such as, the tumor suppressor APC and Axin are involved in the regulation of the Wnt signaling pathway. Furthermore, mutations in APC or beta-catenin have been found to be responsible for the genesis of human cancers. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.