Hexachlorophene inhibits Wnt/beta-catenin pathway by promoting Siah-mediated beta-catenin degradation

Abstract

Aberrant activation of Wnt/beta-catenin signaling and subsequent up-regulation of beta-catenin response transcription (CRT) is a critical event in the development of human colon cancer. Thus, Wnt/beta-catenin signaling is an attractive target for the development of anticancer therapeutics. In this study, we identified hexachlorophene as an inhibitor of Wnt/beta-catenin signaling from cell-based small-molecule screening. Hexachlorophene antagonized CRT that was stimulated by Wnt3a-conditioned medium by promoting the degradation of beta-catenin. This degradation pathway is Siah-1 and adenomatous polyposis colidependent, but glycogen synthase kinase-3 beta and F-box beta-transducin repeat-containing protein-independent. In addition, hexachlorophene represses the expression of cyclin D1, which is a known beta-catenin target gene, and inhibits the growth of colon cancer cells. Our findings suggest that hexachlorophene attenuates Wnt/beta-catenin signaling through the Siah-1-mediated beta-catenin degradation.