PAR-1 is a Dishevelled-associated kinase and a positive regulator of Wnt signalling.
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Sun TQ, Lu B, Feng JJ, Reinhard C, Jan YN, Fantl WJ, Williams LT
PAR-1 is a Dishevelled-associated kinase and a positive regulator of Wnt signalling.
Nat Cell Biol. 2001 Jul;3(7):628-36.
- PubMed ID
- 11433294 [ View in PubMed]
- Abstract
Wnt signalling regulates beta-catenin-dependent developmental processes through the Dishevelled protein (Dsh). Dsh regulates two distinct pathways, one mediated by beta-catenin and the other by Jun kinase (JNK). We have purified a Dsh-associated kinase from Drosophila that encodes a homologue of Caenorhabditis elegans PAR-1, a known determinant of polarity during asymmetric cell divisions. Treating cells with Wnt increases endogenous PAR-1 activity coincident with Dsh phosphorylation. PAR-1 potentiates Wnt activation of the beta-catenin pathway but blocks the JNK pathway. Suppressing endogenous PAR-1 function inhibits Wnt signalling through beta-catenin in mammalian cells, and Xenopus and Drosophila embryos. PAR-1 seems to be a positive regulator of the beta-catenin pathway and an inhibitor of the JNK pathway. These findings show that PAR-1, a regulator of polarity, is also a modulator of Wnt-beta-catenin signalling, indicating a link between two important developmental pathways.