• BMB Reports
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• v.43 no.9
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• pp.609-613
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• 2010

The Dvl and Axin proteins, which are involved in the Wnt signaling pathway, each contain a conserved DIX domain in their sequences. The DIX domain mediates interaction between Dvl and Axin, which together play an important role in signal transduction. However, the extremely low production of DIX domain fragments in E. coli has prevented more widespread functional and structural studies. In this study, we demonstrate that the DIX domains of Dvl and Axin are expressed noticeably in a multi-cistronic system but not in a mono-cistronic system. Formation of the $DIX_{Dvl1}-DIX_{Axin1}$ complex was investigated by affinity chromatography, SEC and crystallization studies. Unstable DIX domains were stabilized by complexing with counterpart DIX domains. The results of the preliminary crystallization and diffraction of the $DIX_{Dvl1}-DIX_{Axin1}$ complex may prove useful for further crystallographic studies.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Applied Pharmacology
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• 2001.11a
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• pp.108-108
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• 2001

Axin2/Conductin/Axil and its ortholog Axin are negative regulators of the Wnt signaling pathway, which promote the phosphorylation and degradation of ${\beta}$-catenin. While Axin is expressed ubiquitously, Axin2 mRNA was seen in a restricted pattern during mouse embryogenesis and organogenesis. Because many sites of Axin2 expression overlapped with those of several Wnt genes, we tested whether Axin2 was induced by Wnt signaling. Endogenous Axin2 mRNA and protein expression could be rapidly induced by activation of the Wnt pathway, and Axin2 reporter constructs, containing a 5.6 kb DNA fragment including the promoter and first intron, were also induced. This genomic region contains eight Tcf/LEF consensus binding sites, five of which are located within longer, highly conserved non-coding sequences. The mutation or deletion of these Tcf/LEF sites greatly diminished induction by ${\beta}$-catenin, and mutation of the Tcf/LEF site T2 abolished protein binding in an electrophoretic mobility-shift assay. These results strongly suggest that Axin2 is a direct target of the Wnt pathway, mediated through Tcf/LEF factors. The 5.6 kb genomic sequence was sufficient to direct the tissue specific expression of d2EGFP in transgenic embryos, consistent with a role for the Tcf/LEF sites and surrounding conserved sequences in the in vivo expression pattern of Axin2. Our results suggest that Axin2 participates in a negative feedback loop, which could serve to limit the duration or intensity of a Wnt-initiated signal.

• Journal of the Korean Magnetic Resonance Society
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.38-47
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• 2005

Axin is a scaffold protein of the APC/axin/GSK complex, binding to all of the other signalling components. Axin interacts with Glycogen synthase kinase 3$\beta$ (GSK 3$\beta$) and functions as a negative regulator of Wnt signalling pathways. To determine the solution structure of the GSK3$\beta$ binding regions of the axin, we initiated NMR study of axin fragment comprising residues 3$Val^{388} - Arg^{401}$using circular dichroism (CD) and two-dimensional NMR spectroscopy. The CD spectra of 3$axin^{pep}$ in the presence of 30% TFE displayed a standard 3$\alpha$-helical conformation, exhibiting the bound structure of 3$axin^{pep}$ to GSK3$\bata$. On the basis of experimental restraints including $NOE_s$, and $^3J_{HN\alpha} $ coupling constants, the solution conformation of $axin^{pep}$ was determined with program CNS. The 20 lowest energy structures were selected out of 50 final simulated-annealing structures in both water and TFE environment, respectively. The $RMSD_s$ for the 20 structures in TFE solution were 0.086 nm for backbone atoms and 0.195 nm for all heavy atoms, respectively. The Ramachandran plot indicates that the $\varphi$, $\psi$ angles of the 20 final structures is properly distributed in energetically acceptable regions. $Axin^pep$ in aqueous solutions consists of a stable $\alpha$-helix spanning residues form $Glu^{391}$ to $Val^{391} $, which is an interacting motif with GSK3$\beta$.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.677-681
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• 2012

The aim of the present research was to investigate clinicopathologic correlations of immunohistochemically-demonstrated axin (axis inhibition) and ${\beta}$-catenin expression in primary hepatocellular carcinomas (HCCs), in comparison with paraneoplastic, cirrhotic and normal liver tissues. Variation in Axin expression across groups were significant (P < 0.01), correlating with alpha fetoprotein (AFP), HBsAg, cancer plugs in the portal vein, and clinical stage of HCCs(P < 0.05); however, there were no links with sex, age, and tumour size (P > 0.05). Differences in cell membrane ${\beta}$-catenin expression were also statistically significant (P < 0.01), again correlated with AFP, HBsAg, cancer plugs in the portal vein, and clinical stage in HCCs (P < 0.05) but not with sex, age, and tumour size (P > 0.05). Axin expression levels in tissues with reduced membrane ${\beta}$-catenin were low (P < 0.05), also being low with nuclear ${\beta}$-catenin expression (P < 0.05). Axin and ${\beta}$-catenin may play an important role in the genesis and progression of HCC via the Wnt signal transmission pathway. Simultaneous determination of axin, ${\beta}$-catenin, AFP, and HBsAg may be useful for early diagnosis, and metastatic and clinical staging of HCCs.

• BMB Reports
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• v.49 no.9
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• pp.455-456
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• 2016

Mutations of APC and KRAS are frequently observed in human colorectal cancers (CRCs) and the Wnt/β-catenin and Ras pathways are consequently activated in a significant proportion of CRC patients. Mutations in these two genes are also known to synergistically induce progression of CRCs. Through a series of studies, we have demonstrated that inhibition of the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway negatively regulates Ras stability, therefore, Ras abundance is increased together with β-catenin in both mice and human CRCs harboring adenomatous polyposis coli (APC) mutations. In a recent study, we identified KY1220, a small molecule that simultaneously degrades β-catenin and Ras by inhibition of the Wnt/β-catenin pathway, and obtained its derivative KYA1797K, which has improved activity and solubility. We found that KYA1797K binds the RGS domain of axin and enhances the binding affinity of β-catenin or Ras with the β-catenin destruction complex components, leading to simultaneous destabilization of β-catenin and Ras via GSK3β activation. By using both in vitro and in vivo studies, we showed that KYA1797K suppressed the growth of CRCs harboring APC and KRAS mutations through destabilization of β-catenin and Ras. Therefore, our findings indicate that the simultaneous destabilization of β-catenin and Ras via targeting axin may serve as an effective strategy for inhibition of CRCs.

• Molecules and Cells
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• v.45 no.12
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• pp.911-922
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• 2022

A structural protein of SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2), nucleocapsid (N) protein is phosphorylated by glycogen synthase kinase (GSK)-3 on the serine/arginine (SR) rich motif located in disordered regions. Although phosphorylation by GSK-3β constitutes a critical event for viral replication, the molecular mechanism underlying N phosphorylation is not well understood. In this study, we found the putative alpha-helix L/FxxxL/AxxRL motif known as the GSK-3 interacting domain (GID), found in many endogenous GSK-3β binding proteins, such as Axins, FRATs, WWOX, and GSKIP. Indeed, N interacts with GSK-3β similarly to Axin, and Leu to Glu substitution of the GID abolished the interaction, with loss of N phosphorylation. The N phosphorylation is also required for its structural loading in a virus-like particle (VLP). Compared to other coronaviruses, N of Sarbecovirus lineage including bat RaTG13 harbors a CDK1-primed phosphorylation site and Gly-rich linker for enhanced phosphorylation by GSK-3β. Furthermore, we found that the S202R mutant found in Delta and R203K/G204R mutant found in the Omicron variant allow increased abundance and hyper-phosphorylation of N. Our observations suggest that GID and mutations for increased phosphorylation in N may have contributed to the evolution of variants.

• Molecules and Cells
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• v.44 no.8
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• pp.557-568
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• 2021

Global knockout of the BK channel has been proven to affect bone formation; however, whether it directly affects osteoblast differentiation and the mechanism are elusive. In the current study, we further investigated the role of BK channels in bone development and explored whether BK channels impacted the differentiation and proliferation of osteoblasts via the canonical Wnt signaling pathway. Our findings demonstrated that knockout of Kcnma1 disrupted the osteogenesis of osteoblasts and inhibited the stabilization of β-catenin. Western blot analysis showed that the protein levels of Axin1 and USP7 increased when Kcnma1 was deficient. Together, this study confirmed that BK ablation decreased bone mass via the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway. Our findings also showed that USP7 might have the ability to stabilize the activity of Axin1, which would increase the degradation of β-catenin in osteoblasts.

• BMB Reports
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• v.38 no.2
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• pp.243-247
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• 2005

Dishevelled (Dvl) is a positive regulator of the canonical Wnt signaling pathway, which regulates the levels of $\beta$-catenin. The $\beta$-catenin oncoprotein depends upon the association of Dvl and Axin proteins through their DIX domains, and its accumulation directs the expression of specific developmental-related genes at the nucleus. Here, the $^1H$, $^{13}C$, and $^{15}N$ resonances of the human Dishevelled 2 DIX domain are assigned using heteronuclear nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. In addition, helical and extended elements are identified based on the NMR data. The results establish a structural context for characterizing the actin and phospholipid interactions and binding sites of this novel domain, and provide insights into its role in protein localization to stress fibers and cytoplasmic vesicles during Wnt signaling.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.380-386
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• 2016

Silymarin from milk thistle (Silybum marianum) has been reported to show an anti-cancer activity. In previous study, we reported that silymarin induces cyclin D1 proteasomal degradation through NF-${\kappa}B$-mediated threonine-286 phosphorylation. However, mechanism for the inhibition of Wnt signaling by silymarin still remains unanswered. Thus, we investigated whether silymarin affects Wnt signaling in human colorectal cancer cells to elucidate the additional anti-cancer mechanism of silymarin. Transient transfection with a TOP and FOP FLASH luciferase construct indicated that silymarin suppressed the transcriptional activity of ${\beta}$-catenin/TCF. Silymarin treatment resulted in a decrease of intracellular ${\beta}$-catenin protein but not mRNA. The inhibition of proteasome by MG132 and $GSK3{\beta}$ inhibition by SB216763 blocked silymarin-mediated downregulation of ${\beta}$-catenin. In addition, silymarin increased phosphorylation of ${\beta}$-catenin and a point mutation of S33Y attenuated silymarin-mediated ${\beta}$-catenin downregulation. In addition, silymarin decreased TCF4 and increased Axin expression in both protein and mRNA level. From these results, we suggest that silymarin-mediated downregulation of ${\beta}$-catenin and TCF4 may result in the inhibition of Wnt signaling in human colorectal cancer cells.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.33 no.9
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• pp.1206-1212
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• 2023

The Wnt/β-catenin pathway plays essential roles in regulating various cellular behaviors, including proliferation, survival, and differentiation [1-3]. The intracellular β-catenin level, which is regulated by a proteasomal degradation pathway, is critical to Wnt/β-catenin pathway control [4]. Normally, casein kinase 1 (CK1) and glycogen synthase kinase-3β (GSK-3β), which form a complex with the scaffolding protein Axin and the tumor suppressor protein adenomatous polyposis coli (APC), phosphorylate β-catenin at Ser45, Thr41, Ser37, and Ser33 [5, 6]. Phosphorylated β-catenin is ubiquitinated by the β-transducin repeat-containing protein (β-TrCP), an F-box E3 ubiquitin ligase complex, and ubiquitinated β-catenin is degraded via a proteasome pathway [7, 8]. Colorectal cancer is a significant cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide. Abnormal up-regulation of the Wnt/β-catenin pathway is a major pathological event in intestinal epithelial cells during human colorectal cancer oncogenesis [9]. Genetic mutations in the APC gene are observed in familial adenomatous polyposis coli (FAP) and sporadic colorectal cancers [10]. In addition, mutations in the N-terminal phosphorylation motif of the β-catenin gene were found in patients with colorectal cancer [11]. These mutations cause β-catenin to accumulate in the nucleus, where it forms complexes with transcription factors of the T-cell factor/lymphocyte enhancer factor (TCF/LEF) family to stimulate the expression of β-catenin responsive genes, such as c-Myc and cyclin D1, which leads to colorectal tumorigenesis [12-14]. Therefore, downregulating β-catenin response transcription (CRT) is a potential strategy for preventing and treating colorectal cancer. Plant cytokinins are N⁶-substituted purine derivatives; they promote cell division in plants and regulate developmental pathways. Natural cytokinins are classified as isoprenoid (isopentenyladenine, zeatin, and dihydrozeatin), aromatic (benzyladenine, topolin, and methoxytopolin), or furfural (kinetin and kinetin riboside), depending on their structure [15, 16]. Kinetin riboside was identified in coconut water and is a naturally produced cytokinin that induces apoptosis and exhibits antiproliferative activity in several human cancer cell lines [17]. However, little attention has been paid to kinetin riboside's mode of action. In this study, we show that kinetin riboside exerts its cytotoxic activity against colon cancer cells by suppressing the Wnt/β-catenin pathway and promoting intracellular β-catenin degradation.