Wnt/β-catenin signaling is critically involved in metazoan development, stem cell maintenance and human disease. Using Xenopus laevis egg extract to screen for compounds that both stabilize Axin and promote β-catenin turnover, we identified an FDA-approved drug, pyrvinium, as a potent inhibitor of Wnt signaling (EC50 of ~10 nM). We show pyrvinium binds all casein kinase 1 (CK1) family members in vitro at low nanomolar concentrations and pyrvinium selectively potentiates casein kinase 1α (CK1α) kinase activity. CK1α knockdown abrogates the effects of pyrvinium on the Wnt pathway. In addition to its effects on Axin and β-catenin levels, pyrvinium promotes degradation of Pygopus, a Wnt transcriptional component. Pyrvinium treatment of colon cancer cells with mutation of the gene for adenomatous polyposis coli (APC) or β-catenin inhibits both Wnt signaling and proliferation. Our findings reveal allosteric activation of CK1α as an effective mechanism to inhibit Wnt signaling and highlight a new strategy for targeted therapeutics directed against the Wnt pathway.

Wnt/␤-catenin signaling controls various cell fates in metazoan development and is misregulated in several cancers and developmental disorders. Binding of a Wnt ligand to its transmembrane coreceptors inhibits phosphorylation and degradation of the transcriptional coactivator ␤-catenin, which then translocates to the nucleus to regulate target gene expression. To understand how Wnt signaling prevents ␤-catenin degradation, we focused on the Wnt coreceptor low-density lipoprotein receptor-related protein 6 (LRP6), which is required for signal transduction and is sufficient to activate Wnt signaling when overexpressed. LRP6 has been proposed to stabilize ␤-catenin by stimulating degradation of Axin, a scaffold protein required for ␤-catenin degradation. In certain systems, however, Wnt-mediated Axin turnover is not detected until after ␤-catenin has been stabilized. Thus, LRP6 may also signal through a mechanism distinct from Axin degradation. To establish a biochemically tractable system to test this hypothesis, we expressed and purified the LRP6 intracellular domain from bacteria and show that it promotes ␤-catenin stabilization and Axin degradation in Xenopus egg extract. Using an Axin mutant that does not degrade in response to LRP6, we demonstrate that LRP6 can stabilize ␤-catenin in the absence of Axin turnover. Through experiments in egg extract and reconstitution with purified proteins, we identify a mechanism whereby LRP6 stabilizes ␤-catenin independently of Axin degradation by directly inhibiting GSK3's phosphorylation of ␤-catenin.Axin ͉ GSK3 ͉ LRP6 ͉ Wnt

Evidence from Drosophila and cultured cell studies support a role for heterotrimeric G proteins in Wnt signaling. Wnt inhibits the degradation of the transcriptional regulator β-catenin. We screened the α subunits of major families of recombinant G protein subunits and Gβγ subunits in a Xenopus egg extract system that reconstitutes β-catenin degradation. We found that Gαo, Gαq, Gαi2, and Gβγ inhibited β-catenin degradation. Gβ1γ2 promoted phosphorylation and activation of the Wnt co-receptor low density lipoprotein receptor-related protein 6 (LRP6) by recruiting synthase kinase 3 (GSK3) to the membrane and enhancing its kinase activity. In both a reporter gene assay and an in vivo assay, c-βARK, an inhibitor of Gβγ, blocked LRP6 activity. Several components of the Wnt/β-catenin pathway formed a complex: Gβ1γ2, LRP6, GSK3, axin, and dishevelled. We propose that heterotrimeric G protein activation results in formation of free Gβγ and Gα, which act cooperatively to inhibit β-catenin degradation and activate β-catenin-mediated transcription.

Wnt-beta-catenin signaling controls critical events in metazoan development, and its dysregulation leads to cancers and developmental disorders. Binding of a Wnt ligand to its transmembrane co-receptors Frizzled (Fz) and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) receptor-related protein (LRP) 5 or LRP6 inhibits the degradation of the transcriptional coactivator beta-catenin, which translocates to the nucleus to regulate gene expression. The secreted protein Dickkopf1 (Dkk1) inhibits Wnt signaling by binding to LRP5 and LRP6 and blocking their interaction with Wnt and Fz. Kremen 1 and 2 (Krm1 and 2, collectively termed Krms) are single-pass transmembrane Dkk1 receptors that synergize with Dkk1 to inhibit Wnt signaling by promoting the endocytosis of LRP5 and LRP6. A study now suggests that Krms, in the absence of Dkk1, potentiate Wnt signaling by maintaining LRP5 and LRP6 at the plasma membrane. It is proposed that the absence or presence of Dkk1 determines whether Krms will activate or inhibit Wnt-beta-catenin signaling, respectively. Here, we speculate that the proposed context-dependent positive and negative roles for Krms could promote biphasic Wnt signaling in response to a shallow gradient of Dkk1, resulting in the generation of precise and robust borders between cells during development. Identification of a context-dependent role for Krms in Wnt-beta-catenin signaling offers insight into the mechanism of Wnt signaling and has important developmental implications.

Misregulation of the Wnt pathway has been shown to be responsible for a variety of human diseases, most notably cancers. Screens for inhibitors of this pathway have been performed almost exclusively using cultured mammalian cells or with purified proteins. We have previously developed a biochemical assay using Xenopus egg extracts to recapitulate key cytoplasmic events in the Wnt pathway. Using this biochemical system, we show that a recombinant form of the Wnt coreceptor, LRP6, regulates the stability of two key components of the Wnt pathway (β-catenin and Axin) in opposing fashion. We have now fused β-catenin and Axin to firefly and Renilla luciferase, respectively, and demonstrate that the fusion proteins behave similarly as their wild-type counterparts. Using this dual luciferase readout, we adapted the Xenopus extracts system for high-throughput screening. Results from these screens demonstrate signal distribution curves that reflect the complexity of the library screened. Of several compounds identified as cytoplasmic modulators of the Wnt pathway, one was further validated as a bona fide inhibitor of the Wnt pathway in cultured mammalian cells and Xenopus embryos. We show that other embryonic pathways may be amendable to screening for inhibitors/modulators in Xenopus egg extracts.