Discovery of chemical probes that suppress Wnt/?-catenin signaling through high-throughput screening.
Ontology highlight
ABSTRACT: Aberrant activation of the Wnt/?-catenin signaling pathway has been observed in a wide range of human tumors. Deregulation of the pathway is closely linked to various aspects of human carcinogenesis such as cell viability, regulation of cell cycle, epithelial-mesenchymal transition, and maintenance of stemness. In addition, recent studies have disclosed the involvement of Wnt signaling in immune evasion of tumor cells. The accumulation of ?-catenin in the nucleus is a common feature of cancer cells carrying defects in the pathway, which leads to the continuous activation of T-cell factor (TCF)/LEF transcription factors. Consequently, a genetic program is switched on, leading to the uncontrolled growth, prolonged survival, and acquisition of mesenchymal phenotype. As ?-catenin/TCF serves as a signaling hub for the pathway, ?-catenin/TCF-dependent transcriptional activity is a relevant readout of the pathway. To date, a wide variety of synthetic TCF/LEF reporters has been developed, and high-throughput screening (HTS) using these reporters has made significant contributions to the discovery of Wnt inhibitors. Indeed, HTS led to the identification of chemical probes targeting porcupine, a membrane bound O-acyltransferase, and CREB-binding protein, a transcriptional coactivator. This review focuses on various screening strategies for the discovery of Wnt inhibitors and their mode of action to help the creation of new concepts for assay/screening methods.
SUBMITTER: Yamaguchi K
PROVIDER: S-EPMC7060471 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Mar
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
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