Post-transcriptional control of gene expression by β-catenin: expanding the non-canonical ARMoury

Abstract

The Wnt/β-catenin pathway is an evolutionarily conserved signal transduction cascade with critical regulatory roles in cellular proliferation, cell fate determination and tissue homeostasis. Through the regulation of multiple human stem cell systems, canonical Wnt signalling is not only a major contributor to normal development, but also heavily implicated in a multitude of human diseases, including cancer. The central mediator of the pathway β-catenin, first identified as Armadillo (ARM) in Drosophila, has well-defined roles in cell adhesion and transcription within the pathway. However, accumulating evidence suggests β-catenin functionality is more complex than initially anticipated with reported roles beyond those historically characterised, including the regulation of RNA and RNA-binding proteins (RBP). This review will summarise the current understanding around β-catenin as a post-transcriptional regulator in normal and malignant development, drawing particular attention to cell types not traditionally used to characterise Wnt signalling but uniquely placed to reveal novel β-catenin function.