Murine Nr4a1 and Herpud1 are up-regulated by Wnt-1, but the homologous human genes are independent from beta-catenin activation.

The Wnt signal transduction pathway regulates morphogenesis and mitogenesis of cells in multicellular organisms. A major downstream consequence of Wnt-1 signalling is the activation of beta-catenin/T-cell factor (TCF)-mediated transcription. We compared Wnt-1-transformed murine mammary epithelial cells with control cells by subtractive hybridization. We found the two genes Nr4a1 and Herpud1 to be overexpressed in Wnt-1-transformed cells. Remarkably, the transcription levels of the two homologous human genes NR4A1 and HERPUD1 are neither activated in cells with activated beta-catenin/TCF-mediated transcription nor can be induced by beta-catenin transfection. These results indicate different regulation mechanisms of the two genes in murine and human cells.