Wnt proteins form a family of highly conserved, secreted signaling molecules that regulate cell-to-cell interactions during embryogenesis. Wnt genes and Wnt signaling are also implicated in cancer. It has been shown that Wnt proteins bind to receptors of the frizzled family on the cell surface. Through several cytoplasmic relay components including DVL-1, the human counterpart of the Drosophila disheveled gene, the signal is transduced to β β β β-catenin, which then enters the nucleus and forms a complex with T-cell factor (TCF) to activate transcription of Wnt target genes. nt genes encode a family of highly conserved, secreted glycoproteins that modulate cell fate and behavior in embryos through activation of receptor-mediated signaling pathways. In the absence of a Wnt signal, β-catenin levels are kept low through interactions with the protein kinase zw3/ GSK-3β (zeste white-3, shaggy in Drosophila/glycogen synthase kinase-3β), CK1α (casein kinase 1α), APC (adenomatous polyposis coli) and axin.
These data indicate that increased expression of the hXBP-1 gene may play some role in human breast carcinogenesis through impairment of cell differentiation regulation.
We have devised a novel method for automated microsatellite analysis using "universal" fluorescent labeling. This system is based on polymerase chain reactions driven by sequence-specific primers and a reporter primer labeled with a fluorescent dye at its 5' end. The forward sequence-specific primer is designed with a tag region bearing no homology to any human genomic sequence. Complementary tag sequences act as templates for the 6-carboxyfluorescein-labeled reporter primer, and those products can be analyzed with an autosequencer. The results we achieved with this assay system were consistent with the results of conventional assays using radioisotope-labeled primers, and diagnosis required less time. Furthermore, the fluorescent-labeled reporter primer is "universal" in that it can be used with different sequence-specific primers designed to carry the appropriate tag sequence at their 5'-ends. Our observations suggest that the "universal" fluorescent labeling method is an efficient tool for analyzing sequence variations in human DNA.
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