Faculté de Médecine de Nice, Institut for Research on Cancer and Aging, Nice (IRCAN), Nice University, Nice, France.
EMBO Rep. 2013 Apr;14(4):356-63. doi: 10.1038/embor.2013.16. Epub 2013 Feb 22.
The DNA-binding protein TRF2 is essential for telomere protection and chromosome stability in mammals. We show here that TRF2 expression is activated by the Wnt/β-catenin signalling pathway in human cancer and normal cells as well as in mouse intestinal tissues. Furthermore, β-catenin binds to TRF2 gene regulatory regions that are functional in a luciferase transactivating assay. Reduced β-catenin expression in cancer cells triggers a marked increase in telomere dysfunction, which can be reversed by TRF2 overexpression. We conclude that the Wnt/β-catenin signalling pathway maintains a level of TRF2 critical for telomere protection. This is expected to have an important role during development, adult stem cell function and oncogenesis.
DNA 结合蛋白 TRF2 对于哺乳动物端粒保护和染色体稳定性至关重要。我们在此表明,Wnt/β-catenin 信号通路在人类癌症和正常细胞以及小鼠肠道组织中激活了 TRF2 的表达。此外,β-catenin 与在荧光素酶转录激活测定中具有功能的 TRF2 基因调控区域结合。在癌细胞中减少 β-catenin 的表达会引发端粒功能障碍的显著增加,而 TRF2 的过表达可以逆转这种情况。我们的结论是,Wnt/β-catenin 信号通路维持了对端粒保护至关重要的 TRF2 水平。这在发育、成体干细胞功能和肿瘤发生过程中可能具有重要作用。