Title:Axin PPI Networks: New Interacting Proteins and New Targets?
VOLUME: 16 ISSUE: 30
Author(s):Xiaomin Song, Wenwen Cai and Lin Li
Affiliation:Institute of Biochemistry and Cell Biology, Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Yue yang Road #320, Shanghai 200031, China.
Keywords:Axin, Signaling pathways, Protein-protein interactions, Drug target, Wnt/β-catenin pathway.
Abstract:The scaffold protein Axin plays important roles in multiple signaling pathways through mediating
the formation of different signaling complexes. Axin is best known for its role as a negative
regulator in Wnt/β-catenin pathway. Aberrant activation of the key components in Wnt/β-catenin pathway
including Axin has been linked to a variety of human cancers. Drugs developed for this pathway
are far from satisfying largely due to the limited targets especially enzymesin this pathway. Almost all
Axinsignal pathways depend on a number of protein-protein interactions (PPIs) for transmitting information,
making PPIs attractive targets and probably a future direction for drug discovery. Axin interacts
with a plethora of proteins, positively or negatively regulating several signaling pathways that are
closely involved in the pathogenesis of human disease. Studies in recent years indicated Axin as a
promising target for treating Wnt-driven diseases. With the identification of more interacting partners
for Axin and increased understanding about the roles of these Axin-mediated PPIs in human disease,
new targets may surface from the Axin PPI networks, which may lead to the generation of new drugs
and treatmentstrategies. In this review, we outline the Axin PPI networks in several pathways especially
in Wnt signaling and discuss how those Axin-interacting proteins affect the respective signaling
pathways through an interaction with Axin.
