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Submitted on May 17, 2007
Accepted on June 29, 2007
-catenin, TCF, FOXO, and oxidative stress in age-dependent diseases of bone, lipid, and glucose metabolism
Division of Endocrinology & Metabolism and the Center of Osteoporosis and Metabolic Bone Diseases, Department of Medicine, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences and the Central Arkansas Veterans Health Care System, Little Rock, AR 72205
* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: manolagasstavros{at}uams.edu.
The Wnt/
-catenin signaling pathway affects several biological processes ranging from embryonic development, patterning, and post-embryonic stem cell fate, to bone formation and insulin secretion in adulthood.
-catenin mediates canonical Wnt signaling by binding to and activating members of the T cell factor (TCF) transcription factor family. Similar to the Wnt/
-catenin pathway, oxidative stress influences fundamental cellular processes including stem cell fate and has been linked to aging and the development of age-related diseases. However, the molecular details of the pathogenetic effects of oxidative stress on the homeostasis of many different tissues remain unclear.
-catenin has been recently implicated as a pivotal molecule in defense against oxidative stress by serving as a co-factor of the forkhead box O (FOXO) transcription factors. In addition, it has been shown that oxidative stress is a pivotal pathogenetic factor of age-related bone loss and strength in mice, leading to, among other changes, a decrease in osteoblast number and bone formation. These particular cellular changes evidently result from diversion of the limited pool of
-catenin from TCF- to FOXO-mediated transcription in osteoblastic cells. Fascinatingly, attenuation of Wnt-mediated transcription, resulting from an autosomal dominant missense mutation in LRP6--a co-receptor for the Wnt-signaling pathway has been linked recently genetically not only to premature osteoporosis, but also to coronary artery disease as well as several features of the metabolic syndrome including hyperlipidemia, hypertension, and diabetes, but not obesity. In this minireview, we highlight evidence linking the age-associated oxidative stress with FOXOs, Wnt/
-catenin signaling, osteoblastogenesis, adipogenesis, osteoporosis and several features of the metabolic syndrome. We hypothesize that antagonism of Wnt-signaling by oxidative stress with increasing age may be a common molecular mechanism contributing to the development not only of involutional osteoporosis, but several pathologies like atherosclerosis, insulin resistance, and hyperlipidemia--all of which become more prevalent with advancing age.
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