title: The WNT/Beta-catenin pathway in melanoma.
abstract: The Wnt/beta-catenin pathway is involved in various cellular activities--including determination, proliferation, migration and differentiation--in embryonic development and adult homeostasis. The deregulation or constitutive activation of the Wnt/beta-catenin pathway may lead to cancer formation. This review focuses on the role of the Wnt/beta-catenin canonical signaling pathway in the melanocyte lineage, and more specifically, in melanoma. Several components of the Wnt/beta-catenin pathway, such as APC, ICAT, LEF1 and beta-catenin are modified in melanoma tumors and cell lines, leading to activation of this signaling. A hallmark of the activation of this pathway is the presence of beta-catenin in the nucleus. Indeed, beta-catenin is found in about 30% of human melanoma nuclei, indicating a potentially specific role for this signaling pathway in this aggressive type of cancer. Beta-catenin can induce ubiquitous genes such as myc or cyclinD1, cell lineage-restricted genes such as Brn2 and melanocyte-specific genes such as Mitf-M and Dct. The Mitf-M and Brn-2 genes encode transcription factors. Mitf plays a critical role in melanocyte survival, proliferation and differentiation. Brn-2 is involved in melanoma proliferation. Determining how the Wnt/beta-catenin signaling pathway, alone or with other pathways, orchestrates the induction of target genes involved in a diverse range of activities represents a major challenge in research into melanoma formation and tumor progression.
authors.affiliation: Developmental Genetics of Melanocytes, UMR 146 CNRS-Institut Curie, Bat. 110, 91405, Orsay Cedex, France.
authors.forename: Lionel
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Larue
authors.forename: Véronique
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Delmas
mesh_terms: D015815:Cell Adhesion Molecules / Q000378:metabolism; D002454:Cell Differentiation; D019070:Cell Lineage; D002462:Cell Membrane / Q000378:metabolism; D002465:Cell Movement; D002467:Cell Nucleus / Q000378:metabolism; D049109:Cell Proliferation; D019938:Cyclin D1 / Q000378:metabolism; D003593:Cytoplasm / Q000378:metabolism; D022781:Hepatocytes / Q000378:metabolism; D018398:Homeodomain Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D019746:Intramolecular Oxidoreductases / Q000378:metabolism; D008544:Melanocytes / Q000378:metabolism; D008545:Melanoma / Q000378:metabolism; D051739:Microphthalmia-Associated Transcription Factor / Q000378:metabolism; D009432:Neural Crest / Q000378:metabolism; D050809:POU Domain Factors / Q000378:metabolism; D015398:Signal Transduction; D014158:Transcription, Genetic; D051153:Wnt Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D051176:beta Catenin / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D015815:Cell Adhesion Molecules; D018398:Homeodomain Proteins; C497234:MITF protein, human; D051739:Microphthalmia-Associated Transcription Factor; C491152:NRCAM protein, human; D050809:POU Domain Factors; D051153:Wnt Proteins; D051176:beta Catenin; C085076:transcription factor Brn-2; D019938:Cyclin D1; D019746:Intramolecular Oxidoreductases; C042501:dopachrome isomerase