Published online Nov 26, 2016. doi: 10.4252/wjsc.v8.i11.384
Peer-review started: June 3, 2016
First decision: July 5, 2016
Revised: July 22, 2016
Accepted: September 21, 2016
Article in press: September 22, 2016
Published online: November 26, 2016
To investigate β-catenin (CTNNB1) signaling in cancer and stem cells, the gene expression and pathway were analyzed using bioinformatics.
The expression of the catenin β 1 (CTNNB1) gene, which codes for β-catenin, was analyzed in mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) and gastric cancer (GC) cells. Beta-catenin signaling and the mutation of related proteins were also analyzed using the cBioPortal for Cancer Genomics and HOMology modeling of Complex Structure (HOMCOS) databases.
The expression of the CTNNB1 gene was up-regulated in GC cells compared to MSCs. The expression of EPH receptor A8 (EPHA8), synovial sarcoma translocation chromosome 18 (SS18), interactor of little elongation complex ELL subunit 1 (ICE1), patched 1 (PTCH1), mutS homolog 3 (MSH3) and caspase recruitment domain family member 11 (CARD11) were also shown to be altered in GC cells in the cBioPortal for Cancer Genomics analysis. 3D complex structures were reported for E-cadherin 1 (CDH1), lymphoid enhancer binding factor 1 (LEF1), transcription factor 7 like 2 (TCF7L2) and adenomatous polyposis coli protein (APC) with β-catenin.
The results indicate that the epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT)-related gene CTNNB1 plays an important role in the regulation of stem cell pluripotency and cancer signaling.
Core tip: β-catenin signaling consists of several pathway cascades, such as those that are involved in pluripotent stem cell generation and cancer. Several genes, including EPHA8, SS18, ICE1, PTCH1, MSH3 and CARD11, are mutated along with CTNNB1. The expression of the CTNNB1, CDH1, MYC, LEF1 and TCF7L2 genes, which are related to the CTNNB1 network, is up-regulated in diffuse-type GC cells compared to MSCs. 3D complex structures for β-catenin (CTNB1_HUMAN) with LEF_MOUSE and TF7L2_HUMAN were found using the HOMCOS database. The EMT-related gene CTNNB1 plays an important role in pluripotent stem cell signaling and cancer signaling.