title: Revving the Throttle on an oncogene: CDK8 takes the driver seat.
abstract: The Wnt/beta-catenin pathway plays an important role in initiation in most, if not all, colon cancers. Prior work has provided important insights into the regulation of beta-catenin stability in the cytoplasm; however, relatively little is known about the mechanism by which beta-catenin activates gene transcription in the nucleus. Using genetic approaches, studies in human colon cancers and Drosophila have identified CDK8 as a colon cancer oncogene that regulates beta-catenin transcriptional activity. These convergent observations provide new insights into the regulation of nuclear beta-catenin activity and identify a novel therapeutic target for beta-catenin-driven malignancies.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA.
authors.forename: Ron
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Firestein
authors.forename: William C
authors.initials: WC
authors.lastname: Hahn
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D056850:Cyclin-Dependent Kinase 8 / Q000502:physiology*; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics* / Q000473:pathology; D009857:Oncogenes / Q000502:physiology*; D051176:beta Catenin / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D051176:beta Catenin; C095686:CDK8 protein, human; D056850:Cyclin-Dependent Kinase 8