A nuclear function for armadillo/beta-catenin.

ABSTRACT: The Wnt signaling pathway provides key information during development of vertebrates and invertebrates, and mutations in this pathway lead to various forms of cancer. Wnt binding to its receptor causes the stabilization and nuclear localization of beta-catenin. Nuclear beta-catenin then functions to activate transcription in conjunction with the transcription factor TCF. A recent report has challenged this basic precept of the Wnt signaling field, arguing that the nuclear localization of beta-catenin may be unrelated to its function and that beta-catenin functions at the plasma membrane to activate this signaling pathway. Here we present evidence that the pathway in fact does depend on the nuclear localization of beta-catenin. We reexamine the functionality of various truncations of beta-c

SUBMITTER: Tolwinski NS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC338072 | biostudies-literature | 2004 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature