beta-catenin interacts with and inhibits NF-kappa B in human colon and breast cancer.

beta-catenin plays an important role in development and homeostasis. Deregulated beta-catenin is involved in oncogenesis. In this study, we found that beta-catenin can physically complex with NF-kappa B, resulting in a reduction of NF-kappa B DNA binding, transactivation activity, and target gene expression. Repressed NF-kappa B activity is found in human colon cancer cells in which beta-catenin is activated. Importantly, activated beta-catenin was found to inhibit the expression of NF-kappa B target genes, including Fas and TRAF1. Furthermore, a strong inverse correlation was identified between the expression levels of beta-catenin and Fas in colon and breast tumor tissues, suggesting that beta-catenin regulates NF-kappa B and its targets in vivo. Thus, beta-catenin may play an important role in oncogenesis through the crossregulation of NF-kappa B.