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Reconstitution Of β-catenin Degradation In Xenopus Egg Extract
Published on: June 17, 2014
Beta-Catenin stabilizes cyclooxygenase-2 mRNA by interacting with AU-rich elements of 3'-UTR
1Department of Molecular Biology, BK21 Graduate Program for RNA Biology, Institute of Nanosensor and Biotechnology, Dankook University, Seoul 140-714, Republic of Korea.
Abstract:
Cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) mRNA is induced in the majority of human colorectal carcinomas. Transcriptional regulation plays a key role in COX-2 expression in human colon carcinoma cells, but post-transcriptional regulation of its mRNA is also critical for tumorigenesis. Expression of COX-2 mRNA is regulated by various cytokines, growth factors and other signals. beta-Catenin, a key transcription factor in the Wnt signal pathway, activates transcription of COX-2. Here we found that COX-2 mRNA was also substantially stabilized by activating beta-catenin in NIH3T3 and 293T cells. We identified the beta-catenin-responsive element in the proximal region of the COX-2 3'-untranslated region (3'-UTR) and showed that beta-catenin interacted with AU-rich elements (ARE) of 3'-UTR in vitro and in vivo. Interestingly, beta-catenin induced the cytoplasmic localization of the RNA stabilizing factor, HuR, which may bind to beta-catenin in an RNA-mediated complex and facilitate beta-catenin-dependent stabilization of COX-2 mRNA. Taken together, we provided evidences for beta-catenin as an RNA-binding factor and a regulator of stabilization of COX-2 mRNA.
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