Constitutive β-catenin signaling by the viral chemokine receptor US28.

Autor: Ellen V Langemeijer, Erik Slinger, Sabrina de Munnik, Andreas Schreiber, David Maussang, Henry Vischer, Folkert Verkaar, Rob Leurs, Marco Siderius, Martine J Smit
Jazyk: angličtina
Rok vydání: 2012
Předmět:
Zdroj: PLoS ONE, Vol 7, Iss 11, p e48935 (2012)
Druh dokumentu: article
ISSN: 1932-6203
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0048935
Popis: Chronic activation of Wnt/β-catenin signaling is found in a variety of human malignancies including melanoma, colorectal and hepatocellular carcinomas. Interestingly, expression of the HCMV-encoded chemokine receptor US28 in intestinal epithelial cells promotes intestinal neoplasia in transgenic mice, which is associated with increased nuclear accumulation of β-catenin. In this study we show that this viral receptor constitutively activates β-catenin and enhances β-catenin-dependent transcription. Our data illustrate that this viral receptor does not activate β-catenin via the classical Wnt/Frizzled signaling pathway. Analysis of US28 mediated signaling indicates the involvement of the Rho-Rho kinase (ROCK) pathway in the activation of β-catenin. Moreover, cells infected with HCMV show significant increases in β-catenin stabilization and signaling, which is mediated to a large extent by expression of US28. The modulation of the β-catenin signal transduction pathway by a viral chemokine receptor provides alternative regulation of this pathway, with potential relevance for the development of colon cancer and virus-associated diseases.
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