P-catenin pathway

Wnt/non-P-catenin signaling is not as well characterized biochemically as the Wnt/p-catenin-dependent pathway this may reflect that it is molecularly more diverse, at least in vertebrates. In Drosophila the best characterized Wnt/non-P-catenin pathway is planar cell polarity (PCP) signaling. Ironically, although it certainly depends on a Fz receptor, it remains... 

TANKYRASE INHIBITION AS A STRATEGY FOR Wnt/p-CATENIN PATHWAY MODULATION... 

Relevance of Notch and Wnt/P -Catenin Pathways in Stem Cell Biology... 

The Wnt/P -Catenin Pathway in Breast Cancer and Interactions Between HIF-la and P -Catenin in Hypoxic Cancer Cells... 

The evolutionarily conserved Wnt/p-catenin signal transduction cascade controls many biological processes [5]. A key feature of the Wnt/p-catenin pathway Is the regulated proteolysis of the downstream effector P-catenin by the P-catenin destruction complex. The principal components of the P-catenin destruction complex are adenomatous polyposis coli (APC), Axin, and glycogen synthase kinase-3 beta (GSIOp). In the absence of Wnt pathway activation, cytosolic P-catenin is constitutively phosphorylated by GSIOp and targeted... 

Shikonin is a natural naphthoquinone compound and inhibits adipogenesis through the activation of the Wnt/P-catenin pathway. Shikonin induces the upregulation and nuclear translocation of p-catenin. 

The Wnt/p-catenin pathway has been examined in several rare benign liver neoplasms and the analysis demonstrates that abnormal cytoplasmic or nuclear localization of P-catenin in 30% of hepatic adenomas from patients. A more recent analysis indicates mutation of P-catenin in only 12% of adenomas, but 46% of these adenomas progressed to HCC. This finding suggests that development of aberrant activity in the Wnt/P-catenin pathway is an important step toward progression to HCC. 

A conditional P-catenin knockout model has identified the Wnt/P-catenin pathway as being essential for the self-renewal of normal and chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) stem cells the impairment of HSC self-renewal in P-cateninV- mice pre-empted the subversion of this property for the generation of CML LSCs (Deshpande Buske C, 2007). 

There is evidence that some of the pathways that regulate self-renewal are sensitive to mechanical forces. The Wnt pathway is known to be important for the physiological adaptation of bone mass and structure to mechanical loading. Both pulsatile fluid flow and mechanical strain " have been shown to activate the Wnt/P-catenin pathway in bone cells, which results in nuclear translocation of P-catenin and increased proliferation. This pathway has also been implicated in tumorigenesis and in controlling self-renewal of stem cells. Similarly, mechanical forces have been shown to induce the expression of proteins of the Hedgehog family in smooth muscle cells and chondrocytes. The mechanosensitivity of these pathways has not yet been explored in the context of stem cell self-renewal. 

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