BCL9/9L-β-catenin Signaling is Associated With Poor Outcome in Colorectal Cancer.

ABSTRACT: BCL9/9L proteins enhance the transcriptional output of the β-catenin/TCF transcriptional complex and contribute critically to upholding the high WNT signaling level required for stemness maintenance in the intestinal epithelium. Here we show that a BCL9/9L-dependent gene signature derived from independent mouse colorectal cancer (CRC) models unprecedentedly separates patient subgroups with regard to progression free and overall survival. We found that this effect was by and large attributable to stemness related gene sets. Remarkably, this signature proved associated with recently described poor prognosis CRC subtypes exhibiting high stemness and/or epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) traits. Consistent with the notion that high WNT signaling is required for stemness maintenance, ab

SUBMITTER: Moor AE 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4703711 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature