Wnt-/-β-catenin pathway signaling in human hepatocellular carcinoma

Core Tip

Core tip: The Wnt signaling pathway is decisive in the rule of mechanisms of proliferation and survival, as well as the differentiation of liver cells during hepatic embryogenesis and morphogenesis. The atypical initiation of signaling in the hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is primarily because of deregulated expressions of the components of the Wnt-/-β-catenin. The mechanisms that are considered more functional and that sustain aberrant activation of signaling pathways act via alterations in the β-catenin gene or the AXIN1/2-gene’s encoding axin, a protein necessary for the degradation of β-catenin. The development of targeted therapeutic molecules for the blockade of the Wnt-signaling pathway for the treatment of HCC depends on the identification of molecules that would be effective only in tumor cells that carry an aberrant signaling β-catenin.