New regulators of Wnt/beta-catenin signaling revealed by integrative molecular screening

Sci Signal. 2008 Nov 11;1(45):ra12. doi: 10.1126/scisignal.2000037.

Abstract

The identification and characterization of previously unidentified signal transduction molecules has expanded our understanding of biological systems and facilitated the development of mechanism-based therapeutics. We present a highly validated small interfering RNA (siRNA) screen that functionally annotates the human genome for modulation of the Wnt/beta-catenin signal transduction pathway. Merging these functional data with an extensive Wnt/beta-catenin protein interaction network produces an integrated physical and functional map of the pathway. The power of this approach is illustrated by the positioning of siRNA screen hits into discrete physical complexes of proteins. Similarly, this approach allows one to filter discoveries made through protein-protein interaction screens for functional contribution to the phenotype of interest. Using this methodology, we characterized AGGF1 as a nuclear chromatin-associated protein that participates in beta-catenin-mediated transcription in human colon cancer cells.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Angiogenic Proteins / genetics
  • Angiogenic Proteins / physiology
  • Cell Line, Tumor
  • Colonic Neoplasms
  • Gene Expression Profiling
  • Genome, Human
  • Humans
  • Protein Binding
  • Protein Interaction Mapping
  • RNA, Small Interfering / metabolism
  • Signal Transduction
  • Trans-Activators / metabolism*
  • Wnt Proteins / genetics
  • Wnt Proteins / physiology*
  • beta Catenin / genetics
  • beta Catenin / physiology*

Substances

  • AGGF1 protein, human
  • Angiogenic Proteins
  • RNA, Small Interfering
  • Trans-Activators
  • Wnt Proteins
  • beta Catenin