Crosstalk between β-catenin and WT1 signalling activity in acute myeloid leukemia

Wnt signalling is an evolutionary conserved signal transduction pathway heavily implicated in normal development and disease. The central mediator of this pathway, β-catenin, is frequently overexpressed, mislocalised and overactive in acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) where it mediates the establishment, maintenance and drug resistance of leukaemia stem cells. Critical to the stability, localisation and activity of β-catenin are the protein-protein interactions it forms, yet these are poorly defined in AML. We recently performed the first β-catenin interactome study in blood cells of any kind and identified a plethora of novel interacting partners. This study shows for the first time that β-catenin interacts with Wilms tumour protein (WT1), a protein frequently overexpressed and mutated in AML, in both myeloid cell lines and also primary AML samples. We demonstrate crosstalk between the signalling activity of these two proteins in myeloid cells, and show that modulation of either protein can affect expression of the other. Finally, we demonstrate that WT1 mutations frequently observed in AML can increase stabilise β-catenin and augment Wnt signalling output. This study has uncovered new context-dependent molecular interactions for β-catenin which could inform future therapeutic strategies to target this dysregulated molecule in AML.