Nature Communications (May 2019)

MEK inhibitors activate Wnt signalling and induce stem cell plasticity in colorectal cancer

  • Tianzuo Zhan,
  • Giulia Ambrosi,
  • Anna Maxi Wandmacher,
  • Benedikt Rauscher,
  • Johannes Betge,
  • Niklas Rindtorff,
  • Ragna S. Häussler,
  • Isabel Hinsenkamp,
  • Leonhard Bamberg,
  • Bernd Hessling,
  • Karin Müller-Decker,
  • Gerrit Erdmann,
  • Elke Burgermeister,
  • Matthias P. Ebert,
  • Michael Boutros

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-019-09898-0
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 10, no. 1
pp. 1 – 17

Abstract

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Wnt signaling is necessary for colorectal cancer tumorigenesis and stem cell maintenance. Here, the authors identify MEK1/2 inhibitors as potent activators of Wnt/β-catenin signalling and show that clinically approved MEK inhibitors inadvertently induce stem cell plasticity in colorectal cancer