Tyrosine kinase inhibitor STI-571/Gleevec down-regulates the beta-catenin signaling activity

Cancer Lett. 2003 Apr 25;193(2):161-70. doi: 10.1016/s0304-3835(03)00013-2.

Abstract

Beta-Catenin is a critical transducer of the Wnt signal pathway and plays an important role in many developmental and cellular processes. Deregulation of beta-catenin signaling has been observed in a broad range of human tumors. In this report, we investigated whether tyrosine kinase inhibitor STI-571 could inhibit the beta-catenin signaling activity and hence suppress cell proliferation. Our results demonstrated that STI-571 effectively inhibited the constitutive activity of beta-catenin signaling in human colon cancer cells as well as the Wnt1-induced activation of beta-catenin signaling in HOS, HTB-94, and HEK 293 cells. Furthermore, STI-571 was shown to effectively suppress the proliferation of human colon cancer cells. Finally, we demonstrated that the Wnt1-mediated activation of a GAL4-beta-catenin heterologous transcription system was effectively inhibited by STI-571. Thus, our findings suggest that tyrosine phosphorylation may play an important role in regulating beta-catenin signaling activity, and inhibition of this signaling pathway by STI-571 may be further explored as an important target for alternative/adjuvant treatments for a broader range of human cancer.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adenoviridae / genetics
  • Antineoplastic Agents / pharmacology*
  • Benzamides
  • Cell Division
  • Cell Line
  • Colonic Neoplasms / drug therapy
  • Culture Media, Conditioned / pharmacology
  • Cytoskeletal Proteins / biosynthesis*
  • Cytoskeletal Proteins / metabolism
  • Dose-Response Relationship, Drug
  • Down-Regulation*
  • Enzyme Inhibitors / pharmacology*
  • Genes, Reporter
  • Genetic Vectors
  • Humans
  • Imatinib Mesylate
  • Piperazines / pharmacology*
  • Protein-Tyrosine Kinases / antagonists & inhibitors
  • Proto-Oncogene Proteins / biosynthesis
  • Pyrimidines / pharmacology*
  • Signal Transduction*
  • Time Factors
  • Trans-Activators / biosynthesis*
  • Trans-Activators / metabolism
  • Transcription, Genetic
  • Transcriptional Activation
  • Tumor Cells, Cultured
  • Wnt Proteins
  • Wnt1 Protein
  • Zebrafish Proteins*
  • beta Catenin

Substances

  • Antineoplastic Agents
  • Benzamides
  • CTNNB1 protein, human
  • Culture Media, Conditioned
  • Cytoskeletal Proteins
  • Enzyme Inhibitors
  • Piperazines
  • Proto-Oncogene Proteins
  • Pyrimidines
  • Trans-Activators
  • WNT1 protein, human
  • Wnt Proteins
  • Wnt1 Protein
  • Zebrafish Proteins
  • beta Catenin
  • Imatinib Mesylate
  • Protein-Tyrosine Kinases