Abstract
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a major cause of cancer death worldwide. As in many other types of cancer, aberrant activation of the canonical Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway is an important contributor to tumorigenesis. In HCC this frequently occurs through mutations in the N-terminal region of β-catenin that stabilize the protein and permit an elevated level of constitutive transcriptional activation by β-catenin/TCF complexes. In this article we review the abundant evidence that Wnt/β-catenin signaling contributes to liver carcinogenesis. We also discuss what is known about the roles of Wnt signaling in liver development, regeneration, and stem cell behavior, in an effort to understand the mechanisms by which activation of the canonical Wnt pathway promotes tumor formation in this organ. The Wnt/β- catenin pathway presents itself as an attractive target for developing novel rational therapies for HCC, a disease for which few successful treatment strategies are currently available.
Keywords: Liver Cancer, Wnt Signaling, Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), tumorigenesis, β-catenin/TCF complexes, stem cell
Current Drug Targets
Title: Wnt Signaling in Liver Cancer
Volume: 9 Issue: 11
Author(s): Yutaka Takigawa and Anthony M.C. Brown
Affiliation:
Keywords: Liver Cancer, Wnt Signaling, Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), tumorigenesis, β-catenin/TCF complexes, stem cell
Abstract: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a major cause of cancer death worldwide. As in many other types of cancer, aberrant activation of the canonical Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway is an important contributor to tumorigenesis. In HCC this frequently occurs through mutations in the N-terminal region of β-catenin that stabilize the protein and permit an elevated level of constitutive transcriptional activation by β-catenin/TCF complexes. In this article we review the abundant evidence that Wnt/β-catenin signaling contributes to liver carcinogenesis. We also discuss what is known about the roles of Wnt signaling in liver development, regeneration, and stem cell behavior, in an effort to understand the mechanisms by which activation of the canonical Wnt pathway promotes tumor formation in this organ. The Wnt/β- catenin pathway presents itself as an attractive target for developing novel rational therapies for HCC, a disease for which few successful treatment strategies are currently available.
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Cite this article as:
Takigawa Yutaka and Brown M.C. Anthony, Wnt Signaling in Liver Cancer, Current Drug Targets 2008; 9 (11) . https://dx.doi.org/10.2174/138945008786786127
DOI https://dx.doi.org/10.2174/138945008786786127 |
Print ISSN 1389-4501 |
Publisher Name Bentham Science Publisher |
Online ISSN 1873-5592 |
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