Wnt-/-β-catenin pathway signaling in human hepatocellular carcinoma

The molecular basis of the carcinogenesis of hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC) has not been adequately clarified, which negatively impacts the development of targeted therapy protocols for this overwhelming neoplasia. The aberrant activation of signaling in the HCC is primarily due to the deregulated expression of the components of the Wnt-/-β-catenin. This leads to the activation of β-catenin/T-cell factor-dependent target genes that control cell proliferation, cell cycle, apoptosis, and cell motility. The deregulation of the Wnt pathway is an early event in hepatocarcinogenesis. An aggressive phenotype was associated with HCC, since this pathway is implicated in the proliferation, migration, and invasiveness of cancer cells, regarding the cell's own survival. The disruption of the signaling cascade Wnt-/-β-catenin has shown anticancer properties in HCC's clinical evaluations of therapeutic molecules targeted for blocking the Wnt signaling pathway for the treatment of HCC, and it represents a promising perspective. The key to bringing this strategy in to clinical practice is to identify new molecules that would be effective only in tumor cells with aberrant signaling β-catenin.

Expression of ICAT and Wnt signaling-related proteins in the monocytic differentiation of HL-60 cells induced by a new steroidal drug NSC67657

Objective To investigate the expression of mRNA and proteins ofβ-catenin,TCF-4(ICAT)and Wnt signaling pathway-related genes in the monocytic differentiation of acute myeloid leukemia HL-60 cells induced by a new steroidal drug NSC67657.Methods Wright’s staining andα-NBE staining were used to observe the differentiation of HL-60 cells after 5 days of

Novel nervous and multi-system regenerative therapeutic strategies for diabetes mellitus with mTOR

Throughout the globe,diabetes mellitus（DM） is increasing in incidence with limited therapies presently available to prevent or resolve the significant complications of this disorder.DM impacts multiple organs and affects all components of the central and peripheral nervous systems that can range from dementia to diabetic neuropathy.The mechanistic target of rapamycin（m TOR） is a promising agent for the development of novel regenerative strategies for the treatment of DM.m TOR and its related signaling pathways impact multiple metabolic parameters that include cellular metabolic homeostasis,insulin resistance,insulin secretion,stem cell proliferation and differentiation,pancreatic β-cell function,and programmed cell death with apoptosis and autophagy.m TOR is central element for the protein complexes m TOR Complex 1（m TORC1） and m TOR Complex 2（m TORC2） and is a critical component for a number of signaling pathways that involve phosphoinositide 3-kinase（PI 3-K）,protein kinase B（Akt）,AMP activated protein kinase（AMPK）,silent mating type information regulation 2 homolog 1（Saccharomyces cerevisiae）（SIRT1）,Wnt1 inducible signaling pathway protein 1（WISP1）,and growth factors.As a result,m TOR represents an exciting target to offer new clinical avenues for the treatment of DM and the complications of this disease.Future studies directed to elucidate the delicate balance m TOR holds over cellular metabolism and the impact of its broad signaling pathways should foster the translation of these targets into effective clinical regimens for DM.

Wnt3a enhances bone morphogenetic protein 9-induced osteogenic differentiation of C3H10T1/2 cells

Background Bone morphogenetic protein 9 （BMP9） and Wnt/13-catenin signaling pathways are able to induce osteogenic differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells （MSCs）, but the role of Wnt/13-catenin signaling pathway in BMP9-induced osteogenic differentiation is not well understood. Thus, our experiment was undertaken to investigate the interaction between BMP9 and Wnt/13-catenin pathway in inducing osteogenic differentiation of MSCs. Methods C3H10T1/2 cells were infected with recombinant adenovirus expressing BMP9, Wnt3a, and BMPg＋Wnt3a. ALP, the early osteogenic marker, was detected by quantitative and staining assay. Later osteogenic marker, mineral calcium deposition, was determined by Alizarin Red S staining. The expression of osteopotin （OPN）, osteocalcin （OC）, and Runx2 was analyzed by Real time PCR and Western blotting. In vivo animal experiment was carried out to further confirm the role of Wnt3a in ectopic bone formation induced by BMP9. Results The results showed that Wnt3a enhanced the ALP activity induced by BMP9 and increased the expressions of OC and OPN, with increase of mineral calcium deposition in vitro and ectopic bone formation in vivo. Furthermore, we also found that Wnt3a increased the level of Runx2, an important nuclear transcription factor of BMP9. Conclusion Canonical Wnt/13-catenin signal pathway may play an important role in BMP9-induced osteogenic differentiation of MSCs, and Runx2 may be a linkage between the two signal pathways.

Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway and its role in hepatocellular carcinoma

Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway has been identified as a key cellular pathway in embryogenesis and disease,including cancers.In recent years,more and more interacting components have been observed and their exact functions approached,thus ensuring the most complicated understanding of this pathway in normal organism development and disorders.In hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC),with a deeply understanding of this pathway,more and more genes which contribute to aber-rant activation of Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway has recently been identified and their exact roles in HCC pur-sued.In this review,we will focus on a mostly updated understanding of this pathway and its observed role in HCC by emphasizing the gene defects identified to pro-mote tumorigenesis and development.