title: Context-dependent regulation of the β-catenin transcriptional complex supports diverse functions of Wnt/β-catenin signaling.
abstract: Wnt/β-catenin signaling is activated repeatedly during an animal's lifespan, and it controls gene expression through its essential nuclear effector, β-catenin, to regulate embryogenesis, organogenesis, and adult homeostasis. Although the β-catenin transcriptional complex has the ability to induce the expression of many genes to exert its diverse roles, it chooses and transactivates a specific gene set from among its numerous target genes depending on the context. For example, the β-catenin transcriptional complex stimulates the expression of cell cycle-related genes and consequent cell proliferation in neural progenitor cells, while it promotes the expression of neural differentiation-related genes in differentiating neurons. Recent studies using animal and cell culture models have gradually improved our understanding of the molecular basis underlying such context-dependent actions of the β-catenin transcriptional complex. Here, we describe eight mechanisms that support β-catenin-mediated context-dependent gene regulation, and their spatio-temporal regulation during vertebrate development. In addition, we discuss their contribution to the diverse functions of Wnt/β-catenin signaling.
authors.affiliation: Division of Cell Regulation Systems, Medical Institute of Bioregulation, Kyushu University, 3-1-1 Maidashi, Higashi-Ku, Fukuoka 812-8582, Japan.
authors.forename: Takamasa
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Masuda
authors.affiliation: Division of Cell Regulation Systems, Medical Institute of Bioregulation, Kyushu University, 3-1-1 Maidashi, Higashi-Ku, Fukuoka 812-8582, Japan tish@bioreg.kyushu-u.ac.jp.
authors.forename: Tohru
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ishitani
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002453:Cell Cycle / Q000502:physiology*; D002454:Cell Differentiation / Q000502:physiology*; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D058953:Neural Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism*; D051153:Wnt Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D060449:Wnt Signaling Pathway / Q000502:physiology*; D051176:beta Catenin / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D051153:Wnt Proteins; D051176:beta Catenin
keywords: Wnt; context-dependent; histone modifier; vertebrate development; β-catenin