Structural basis of the Axin-adenomatous polyposis coli interaction

EMBO J. 2000 May 15;19(10):2270-9. doi: 10.1093/emboj/19.10.2270.

Abstract

Axin and the adenomatous polyposis coli (APC) tumor suppressor protein are components of the Wnt/Wingless growth factor signaling pathway. In the absence of Wnt signal, Axin and APC regulate cytoplasmic levels of the proto-oncogene beta-catenin through the formation of a large complex containing these three proteins, glycogen synthase kinase 3beta (GSK3beta) and several other proteins. Both Axin and APC are known to be critical for beta-catenin regulation, and truncations in APC that eliminate the Axin-binding site result in human cancers. A protease-resistant domain of Axin that contains the APC-binding site is a member of the regulators of G-protein signaling (RGS) superfamily. The crystal structures of this domain alone and in complex with an Axin-binding sequence from APC reveal that the Axin-APC interaction occurs at a conserved groove on a face of the protein that is distinct from the G-protein interface of classical RGS proteins. The molecular interactions observed in the Axin-APC complex provide a rationale for the evolutionary conservation seen in both proteins.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.

MeSH terms

  • Adenomatous Polyposis Coli Protein
  • Amino Acid Sequence
  • Animals
  • Axin Protein
  • Binding Sites
  • Cytoskeletal Proteins / chemistry
  • Cytoskeletal Proteins / genetics
  • Cytoskeletal Proteins / metabolism*
  • Humans
  • Molecular Sequence Data
  • Mutagenesis
  • Protein Binding
  • Protein Conformation
  • Proteins / chemistry
  • Proteins / genetics
  • Proteins / metabolism*
  • Proto-Oncogene Mas
  • Proto-Oncogene Proteins / metabolism
  • Repressor Proteins*
  • Sequence Alignment
  • Signal Transduction*
  • Wnt Proteins
  • Xenopus
  • Xenopus Proteins
  • Zebrafish Proteins*

Substances

  • Adenomatous Polyposis Coli Protein
  • Axin Protein
  • Cytoskeletal Proteins
  • MAS1 protein, human
  • Proteins
  • Proto-Oncogene Mas
  • Proto-Oncogene Proteins
  • Repressor Proteins
  • Wnt Proteins
  • Xenopus Proteins
  • Zebrafish Proteins
  • axin1 protein, Xenopus