Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 11, 2026

The Soft Agar Colony Formation Assay
Published on: October 27, 2014
The Wnt pathway destabilizes adherens junctions and promotes cell migration via β-catenin and its target gene cyclin
Annica Vlad-Fiegen1, Anette Langerak, Sonja Eberth
1Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt (DLR), Projektträger im DLR, Bonn, Germany.
Abstract:
The Wnt pathway regulates cell proliferation, mobility and differentiation. Among the many Wnt target genes is CCND1 which codes for cyclin D1. Cyclin D1, in complex with cdk4 and cdk6, regulates G1/S phase transition during cell cycle. Independently of CDK, cyclin D1 also regulates the migration of macrophages. Here we analyzed the effects of cyclin D1 on the migration of cancer cell lines using the transwell migration and scratch assays. We also tested the effect of cyclin D1 and β-catenin on E-cadherin-mediated cell-cell contacts. Our results show that the Wnt pathway promotes cellular migration via its target gene cyclin D1. Moreover we show that cyclin D1 influences the actin cytoskeleton and destabilizes adherens junctions.
Related Concept Videos
Canonical Wnt Signaling Pathway
Canonical Wnt Signaling Pathway
Non-Canonical Wnt Signaling Pathways
Non-Canonical Wnt Signaling Pathways
Catenins
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...
Tension Response at Adherens Junctions
α-Catenin as a Mechanosensory Protein
The α-catenin of adherens junctions is an allosteric protein with three VH (vinculin homology) domains...
