A Wnt-fall for gene regulation: repression.
A major endpoint of the canonical Wnt signaling pathway is a change in the transcription of target genes. The transcription factors lymphoid enhancer factor (LEF) and T cell factor (TCF) serve as the main gatekeepers of these changes by selecting genes to be targeted by the transcriptional coregulator beta-catenin and by defining how target gene expression will be altered. Most research has focused on LEF/TCF:beta-catenin-mediated activation of transcription, but there have been some reports that suggest that this complex also directly represses transcription. A recent study uncovered a new mode of repression of Wnt target genes in which recognition of a novel DNA element by TCF specifies that beta-catenin acts as a transcriptional repressor.
Hoverter
Nate P
NP
Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA 92697, USA.
Waterman
Marian L
ML
D000818:Animals; D004330:Drosophila / Q000378:metabolism; D029721:Drosophila Proteins / Q000502:physiology*; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D011485:Protein Binding; D015398:Signal Transduction; D051820:TCF Transcription Factors / Q000502:physiology*; D051153:Wnt Proteins / Q000502:physiology*; D051176:beta Catenin / Q000502:physiology
D029721:Drosophila Proteins; D051820:TCF Transcription Factors; D051153:Wnt Proteins; D051176:beta Catenin