Article
Dermatology
Kyung-Il Kim, Kyung Eun Jung, Young-Bin Shin, Chang-Deok Kim, Tae-Jin Yoon
Summary: In this study, we conducted a large-scale screening test on drugs approved for other diseases to find pigmentation-modulating agents. Among the potential drugs, sorafenib was selected for further investigation on its effect on pigmentation in melanoma cells. The results showed that sorafenib promoted pigmentation by increasing the melanin content and tyrosinase activity. Mechanistic studies revealed that this effect was mediated by the activation of beta-catenin signaling through the regulation of GSK3 beta phosphorylation.
EXPERIMENTAL DERMATOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Ke-Fan Pan, Wei-Jiunn Lee, Chun-Chi Chou, Yi-Chieh Yang, Yu-Chan Chang, Ming-Hsien Chien, Michael Hsiao, Kuo-Tai Hua
Summary: The study found that ESM1 expression is positively associated with prostate cancer stemness and progression by promoting Wnt/β-catenin signaling activation. Nuclear accumulation of ESM1 supports prostate cancer stemness by interacting with beta-catenin, stabilizing the beta-catenin-TCF4 complex and facilitating the transcription of signaling targets. This highlights the significance of mislocalized ESM1 in driving metastasis in prostate cancer and its potential as a diagnostic or prognostic biomarker and therapeutic target.
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Yi Liu, Jun Ma, Jiu-Shan Song, Hai-Ying Zhou, Jing-Hui Li, Cheng Luo, Xin Geng, He-Xiang Zhao
Summary: TOP2A plays a critical role in the metastatic characteristics of glioma. High expression of TOP2A is associated with poor survival in glioma patients, while silencing TOP2A impairs glioma cell proliferation and aggressiveness. Mechanistically, TOP2A interacts with beta-catenin and promotes its translocation into the nucleus, affecting glioma cell growth and invasion through the Wnt/beta-catenin pathway.
Article
Oncology
Adnan Shami Shah, Xiaofu Cao, Andrew C. White, Jeremy M. Baskin
Summary: The study identifies PLEKHA4 as a crucial factor for melanoma proliferation and survival, demonstrating its essential role in Wnt/beta-catenin signaling. Knocking down PLEKHA4 attenuated tumor growth in both BRAF- and NRAS-mutant melanoma models, with an additive effect when combined with the clinically used inhibitor encorafenib in the BRAF-mutant model. As an E3 ubiquitin ligase regulator, PLEKHA4 presents promising opportunities for targeting in melanoma therapy.
Article
Oncology
Shaomin Shi, Chongyang Li, Yanli Zhang, Chaowei Deng, Wei Liu, Juan Du, Qian Li, Yacong Ji, Leiyang Guo, Lichao Liu, Huanrong Hu, Yaling Liu, Hongjuan Cui
Summary: DHC treatment inhibits cell proliferation and migration of melanoma cells by down-regulating beta-catenin and its downstream proteins, suggesting a potential therapeutic strategy for human melanoma through the beta-catenin pathway.
FRONTIERS IN ONCOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Oncology
Yanqiu Bao, Jingshu Cui, Yuyang Yue, Shuxia Cao, Xiangdan Li, Lan Liu
Summary: Ebp1 is highly expressed in malignant melanoma and is associated with clinical stage and lymph node metastases. Knockdown of Ebp1 inhibits cell proliferation, migration, and invasion in melanoma. Ebp1 may promote the proliferation and metastasis of melanoma cells through activation of the Wnt/β-catenin pathway.
CANCER CELL INTERNATIONAL
(2022)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Dieuwke L. Marvin, Jelmer Dijkstra, Rabia M. Zulfiqar, Michiel Vermeulen, Peter ten Dijke, Laila Ritsma
Summary: Melanoma patients with liver metastasis have a poor prognosis. The cytokine Transforming Growth Factor beta (TGF-beta) plays a role in melanoma cells and acts on cells in the liver. We hypothesized that this cytokine influences the metastatic outgrowth of melanoma in liver. To investigate this, we generated a model to turn on and off TGF-beta signaling in the B16F10 melanoma cells, and found that TGF-beta activation repressed cell growth and migration in vitro, while it increased outgrowth in liver in vivo.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Sally K. Y. To, Maggie K. S. Tang, Yin Tong, Jiangwen Zhang, Karen K. L. Chan, Philip P. C. Ip, Jue Shi, Alice S. T. Wong
Summary: Tumor heterogeneity is crucial for cancer relapse and metastasis. This study reveals the upregulation of Wnt/β-catenin signaling in highly metastatic tumors and the nonautonomous effect of activated β-catenin on the immune microenvironment by modulating tumor-associated macrophages. Additionally, it is shown that contact with macrophages induces polyploidy in a subset of highly metastatic cells, while beta-catenin polarizes macrophages to a TAM phenotype. Targeting the positive feedback cascade of metadherin/CEACAM1-CCL3 holds great therapeutic potential to disrupt polyploidization of metastatic cancer subclones.
Article
Dermatology
Di Wang, Shuheng Li, Yishan Chen, Jialiang Luo, Lei Li, Bocheng Wang, Yingping Xu, Yunsheng Liang
Summary: This study aims to prove the efficacy of sodium thiosulfate (STS) in melanoma treatment. The results showed that STS inhibited the proliferation, viability, and epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) process of melanoma by releasing H2S. The mechanism of action involved the inhibition of the Wnt/beta-catenin signaling pathway.
JOURNAL OF DERMATOLOGICAL SCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Oncology
Meng-Shun Sun, Lan-Ting Yuan, Chia-Hao Kuei, Hui-Yu Lin, Yen-Lin Chen, Hui-Wen Chiu, Yuan-Feng Lin
Summary: The study revealed that RGL2 is commonly upregulated in primary tumors of CRC patients, serving as a poor prognostic marker and promoting metastatic progression by regulating Wnt/beta-catenin signaling axis and KRAS.
Article
Cell Biology
Qiaorui Bai, Xia Yang, Quanfeng Li, Weizhong Chen, Han Tian, Rong Lian, Ximeng Liu, Shuang Wang, Yi Yang
Summary: By analyzing single-cell RNA sequencing data, researchers identified that FABP7 gene is specifically up-regulated in tumor cells of metastatic NSCLC patients and may serve as a prognostic indicator for poor survival. Experimental studies further showed that FABP7 promotes the metastatic competencies of NSCLC cells by inhibiting the degradation of specific cytoplasmic molecules in the Wnt signaling pathway.
Article
Oncology
Jean-Luc Raoul, Sandrine Oziel-Taieb, Thierry Lecomte, Jose Adelaide, Arnaud Guille, Max Chaffanet, Flora Poizat, Marie-Francoise Heymann, Louise Barbier, Francois Bertucci
Summary: Pancreatoblastomas, uncommon tumors typically found in children, were observed in two young women with metastases. Treatment with the FOLFIRINOX regimen resulted in disease control in one case and partial response in the other, improving the general status of both patients. High-throughput sequencing of the tumors revealed alterations in the Wnt/beta-catenin pathway, including a mutation in CTNNB1 in one case and a homozygous loss associated with breakage targeting APC in the second case.
FRONTIERS IN ONCOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Pharmacology & Pharmacy
Ferrin Antony, Xuejia Kang, Chetan Pundkar, Chuanyu Wang, Amarjit Mishra, Pengyu Chen, R. Jayachandra Babu, Amol Suryawanshi
Summary: Tumors often dysregulate the Wnt/beta-catenin pathway to promote tumorigenesis, immunosuppression, and resistance to targeted cancer immunotherapies. In this study, a nanoparticle formulation for XAV939, a tankyrase inhibitor, was used to investigate the effect of beta-catenin inhibition on melanoma cell viability, migration, and tumor progression.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF PHARMACEUTICS
(2023)
Article
Biology
Fabiana Luond, Martin Pirkl, Mizue Hisano, Vincenzo Prestigiacomo, Ravi K. R. Kalathur, Niko Beerenwinkel, Gerhard Christofori
Summary: This study reveals the interplay between signaling pathways in melanoma and identifies the priorities in targets for phenotype switching. TGF beta/SMAD, Hippo/YAP/TAZ, and Wnt/beta-catenin signaling pathways play crucial roles in the proliferative-to-invasive phenotype switch of melanoma cells.
LIFE SCIENCE ALLIANCE
(2022)
Article
Oncology
Kwan-Yung Au, Regina Cheuk-Lam Lo
Summary: The study found that the immune tumor microenvironment in liver metastases is influenced by the activation status of beta-catenin in the tumor. Results showed that colorectal primary tumors had the largest proportion of metastatic carcinoma with beta-catenin overexpression. Overexpression of beta-catenin was associated with lower CD8 count in the tumor region, indicating suppression of CD8 count is related to activated Wnt/beta-catenin signaling in the metastatic tumor.
PATHOLOGY & ONCOLOGY RESEARCH
(2021)
