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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2010 Apr 29.
Published in final edited form as: Dev Cell. 2009 Jul;17(1):9–26. doi: 10.1016/j.devcel.2009.06.016

Figure 1. Overview of Wnt/β-catenin signaling.

Figure 1

A) In the absence of Wnt, cytoplasmic β-catenin forms a complex with Axin, APC, GSK3 and CK1, and is phosphorylated by CK1 (blue) and subsequently by GSK3 (yellow). Phosphorylated β-catenin is recognized by the E3 ubiquitin ligase β-Trcp, which targets β-catenin for proteosomal degradation. Wnt target genes are repressed by TCF-TLE/Groucho and histone deacetylases (HDAC). B) In the presence of Wnt ligand, a receptor complex forms between Fz and LRP5/6. Dvl recruitment by Fz leads to LRP5/6 phosphorylation, and Axin recruitment. This disrupts Axin-mediated phosphorylation/degradation of β-catenin, allowing β-catenin to accumulate in the nucleus where it serves as a co-activator for TCF to activate Wnt responsive genes.