Related Experiment Video

Updated: Aug 8, 2026

A Chromatin Immunoprecipitation Assay to Identify Novel NFAT2 Target Genes in Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia
09:52

A Chromatin Immunoprecipitation Assay to Identify Novel NFAT2 Target Genes in Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia

Published on: December 4, 2018

STMN2 is a novel target of beta-catenin/TCF-mediated transcription in human hepatoma cells

Heun-Sik Lee1, Dong Chul Lee, Mee-Hee Park

  • 1Functional Genomics Research Center, Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology, Daejeon 305-600, Republic of Korea.

Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications
|May 23, 2006
PubMed

Insights

The Wnt signaling pathway

Area of Science:

  • Oncology
  • Molecular Biology
  • Cell Biology

Background:

  • Wnt signaling pathway, mediated by beta-catenin/TCF, is crucial in human cancers.
  • Deregulation of this pathway activates genes with significant roles in tumor development.
  • Identifying Wnt signaling target genes is vital for understanding beta-catenin-driven carcinogenesis.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To identify novel target genes of beta-catenin-mediated transcription.
  • To investigate the role of STMN2 in liver carcinogenesis.
  • To elucidate the regulatory mechanism of STMN2 expression by Wnt signaling.

Main Methods:

  • Gene expression analysis in liver tissues and cell lines.
  • Reporter assays and chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) to confirm direct transcriptional regulation.
  • siRNA-mediated knockdown to assess functional significance.

Main Results:

  • STMN2, a regulator of microtubule dynamics, was identified as a novel Wnt target gene.
  • STMN2 expression is upregulated in hepatoma and cirrhotic liver tissues and Wnt-activated cells.
  • STMN2 is a direct transcriptional target of beta-catenin/TCF, with a critical TCF binding site in its promoter.
  • STMN2 is essential for the anchorage-independent growth of beta-catenin/TCF-activated hepatoma cells.

Conclusions:

  • STMN2 is a direct target of beta-catenin/TCF-mediated transcription.
  • STMN2 plays a significant role in promoting anchorage-independent growth in hepatoma cells.
  • STMN2 emerges as a potential novel player in liver carcinogenesis driven by Wnt signaling.

More Related Videos

Studying TGF-β Signaling and TGF-β-induced Epithelial-to-mesenchymal Transition in Breast Cancer and Normal Cells06:54

Studying TGF-β Signaling and TGF-β-induced Epithelial-to-mesenchymal Transition in Breast Cancer and Normal Cells

Published on: October 27, 2020

An Oncogenic Hepatocyte-Induced Orthotopic Mouse Model of Hepatocellular Cancer Arising in the Setting of Hepatic Inflammation and Fibrosis06:38

An Oncogenic Hepatocyte-Induced Orthotopic Mouse Model of Hepatocellular Cancer Arising in the Setting of Hepatic Inflammation and Fibrosis

Published on: September 12, 2019

Related Concept Videos

TGF - β Signaling Pathway01:16

TGF - β Signaling Pathway

The TGF-β signaling pathway regulates cell growth, differentiation, adhesion, motility, and development. TGF-β ligands that induce TGF-β signaling are synthesized in their latent form. Several proteases or cell surface receptors such as integrins act upon the latent form, releasing the active ligand. There are three types of mammalian TGF-βs: (TGF-β1, TGF-β2, and TGF-β3) that bind as homodimers or heterodimers to TGF-β receptors. The TGF-β receptors are of three kinds RI, RII, and RIII. The RI...
Master Transcription Regulators02:23

Master Transcription Regulators

Master transcription regulators are regulatory proteins that are predominantly responsible for regulating the expression of multiple genes. Often these genes work in concert to drive a  complex process. Activation of a master transcription regulator can lead to a cascade of transcriptional activation necessary for that outcome. These regulators can directly bind to the regulatory sequences of the various genes involved, or they can indirectly regulate transcription by binding to regulatory...
Catenins01:23

Catenins

Catenins are characterized by multiple binding domains and dynamic structures that allow them to function as linker proteins in cell junction complexes. All catenins, except α-catenin, contain a characteristic protein sequence called the armadillo repeat and are therefore also called armadillo proteins.
Catenins in Cell Junctions
Catenins bind to cell adhesion molecules such as cadherins and link them to different cytoskeletal proteins depending on the type of cell junction. At the adherens...
Canonical Wnt Signaling Pathway02:54

Canonical Wnt Signaling Pathway

The gene encoding the main signaling molecules of the Wnt signaling pathways (the Wnt proteins) was discovered almost four decades ago by Nüsslein-Volhard and Wieschaus. They identified and originally named the gene "wingless" (wg) after a phenotype discovered during their landmark genetic screen in Drosophila for body pattern defects. At around the same time, another researcher named Harold Varmus found that a murine tumor virus activates the mammalian wg homolog, Int-1, which results in tumor...
Cancer-Critical Genes II: Tumor Suppressor Genes01:05

Cancer-Critical Genes II: Tumor Suppressor Genes

Genes usually encode proteins necessary for the proper functioning of a healthy cell. Mutations can often cause changes to the gene expression pattern, thereby altering the phenotype.
When the function of certain critical genes, especially those involved in cell cycle regulation and cell growth signaling cascades, gets disrupted, it upsets the cell cycle progression. Such cells with unchecked cell cycles start proliferating uncontrollably and eventually develop into tumors.
Such genes that act...
Cell Specific Gene Expression01:58

Cell Specific Gene Expression

Multicellular organisms contain a variety of structurally and functionally distinct cell types, but the DNA in all the cells originated from the same parent cells. The differences in the cells can be attributed to the differential gene expression. Liver cells, whose functions include detoxification of blood, production of bile to metabolize fats, and synthesis of proteins essential for metabolism, must express a specific set of genes to perform their functions. Gene expression also varies with...