Figure 1

Schematic diagram showing Wnt/β-catenin signaling in Invasive ductal carcinomas of breast: On activation of Wnt signaling, disheveled (Dvl) prevents degradation of β-catenin, possibly through the recruitment of GBP/Frat-1, which in turn displaces GSK3β from the destruction complex. Adenomatous Polyposis Coli (APC), an important component of Wnt signaling was also found to downregulated by promoter methylation, as one of the mechanism [21]. Stabilized β-catenin enters the nucleus and associates with T cell factor (TCF)/lymphoid enhancer factor (LEF) transcription factors, which leads to the transcription of Wnt target genes such as cyclin D1, vimentin and slug [20, 21]. Mechanisms attributed in the downregulation of E-cadherin are DNA methylation/or by transcriptional suppression via snail/or slug, thereby releasing membrane bound β-catenin into the cytosol [21].