β-Catenin/TCF/LEF1 can directly regulate phenylephrine-induced cell hypertrophy and Anf transcription in cardiomyocytes

β-Catenin/TCF/LEF1 signaling is implicated in cardiac hypertrophy. We demonstrate that knockdown of β-catenin attenuates phenylephrine (PE)-induced cardiomyocyte hypertrophy and the up-regulation of the fetal gene Anf. We explore the mechanism through which β-catenin regulates Anf expression and find a consensus binding sequence on the Anf promoter for TCF/LEF1 family members. LEF1 binds directly to the Anf promoter via this sequence, which shows functional significance, and PE stimulation enhances recruitment of β-catenin onto the Anf promoter. Thus, we document a direct positive role of β-catenin on PE-induced cardiomyocyte hypertrophy and identify a new target gene for β-catenin/TCF/LEF1.     

Functional analyses of vertebrate TCF proteins in C. elegans embryos

In the canonical Wnt pathway, signaling results in the stabilization and increased levels of β-catenin in responding cells. β-catenin then enters the nucleus, functioning as a coactivator for the Wnt effector, TCF/LEF protein. In the absence of Wnt signaling, TCF is complexed with corepressors, together repressing Wnt target genes. In C. elegans, Wnt signaling specifies the E blastomere to become the endoderm precursor. Activation of endoderm genes in E requires not only an increase in β-catenin level, but a concomitant decrease in the nuclear level of POP-1, the sole C. elegans TCF. A decrease in nuclear POP-1 levels requires Wnt-induced phosphorylation of POP-1 and 14-3-3 protein-mediated nuclear export. Nuclear POP-1 levels remain high in the sister cell of E, MS, where POP-1 represses the expression of endoderm genes. Here we express three vertebrate TCF proteins (human TCF4, mouse LEF1 and Xenopus TCF3) in C. elegans embryos and compare their localization, repression and activation functions to POP-1. All three TCFs are localized to the nucleus in C. elegans embryos, but none undergoes Wnt-induced nuclear export. Although unable to undergo Wnt-induced nuclear export, human TCF4, but not mouse LEF1 or Xenopus TCF3, can repress endoderm genes in MS, in a manner very similar to POP-1. This repressive activity requires that human TCF4 recognizes specific promoter sequences upstream of endoderm genes and interacts with C. elegans corepressors. Domain swapping identified two regions of POP-1 that are sufficient to confer nuclear asymmetry to human TCF4 when swapped with its corresponding domains. Despite undergoing Wnt-induced nuclear export, the human TCF4/POP-1 chimeric protein continues to function as a repressor for endoderm genes in E, a result we attribute to the inability of hTCF4 to bind to C. elegans β-catenin. Our results reveal a higher degree of species specificity among TCF proteins for coactivator interactions than for corepressor interactions, and uncover a basic difference between how POP-1 and human TCF4 steady state nuclear levels are regulated.     

蛋白质修饰对Wnt信号通路的调控

Wnt信号通路与细胞的生长发育和分化等密切相关,是细胞中重要的信号转导途径,在 多种癌症中,都有该通路的异常改变.Wnt信号通路主要是通过一系列蛋白将Wnt信号传导至β连环蛋白（β-catenin,β-cat）,使后者入核并与转录因子T细胞因子/淋巴细胞增 强因子（T cell factor / lymphoid enhancer factor,TCF/LEF）结合,从而促进下游基因的转录,进而调控细胞的多种生理过程.在该通路中,涉及轴蛋白（Axin）、结肠腺瘤样息 肉病蛋白(adenomatous polyposis coli,APC)、糖原合酶激酶3β (glycogen synthase kinase-3β, GSK-3β)、β连环蛋白和酪蛋白激酶I (casein kinase I,CKI)等众多调节因子,这些因子能发生多种化学修饰,如磷酸化、泛素化（ubiquitylation）、苏素化 (small ubiquitin related moditier,SUMO)和乙酰化等,从而影响β连环蛋白、T细胞因子的稳定性、细胞定位以及活性,最终起到调节Wnt信号通路的作用.     

CTGF/CCN2 activates canonical Wnt signalling in mesangial cells through LRP6: implications for the pathogenesis of diabetic nephropathy

We describe the activation of Wnt signalling in mesangial cells by CCN2. CCN2 stimulates phosphorylation of LRP6 and GSK-3β resulting in accumulation and nuclear localisation of β-catenin, TCF/LEF activity and expression of Wnt targets. This is coincident with decreased phosphorylation of β-catenin on Ser 33/37 and increased phosphorylation on Tyr142. DKK-1 and LRP6 siRNA reversed CCN2’s effects. Microarray analyses of diabetic patients identified differentially expressed Wnt components. β-Catenin is increased in type 1 diabetic and UUO mice and in in vitro models of hyperglycaemia and hypertension. These findings suggest that Wnt/CCN2 signalling plays a role in the pathogenesis of diabetic nephropathy.