Wntsignaling is involved in the normal development and tumorigenesis via epithelial- mesenchymal transition (EMT). init iated by down-regul ation of E-cadherin by the transc ription factor Snail. Wnt signaling inhi bits Sna il phosph o rylation t hrough Axin2-dependent pathway that sustains nuclear accumul ation 0 1' Snail by driving CSK3ß nucleocytoplasmic export then consequently increases Snail protein levels and induces an EMT However. the roles of Wnt and Axin expression and their functional implication on Snail dependent EMT program a re not clear du ring the multistep carcinogenic process. We examined that canonical Wnt signaling engagingmul t istep carcinogenic process of uterine cervical cancer through Wnt-Axin2-Snail axis. In nonnal cervi cal mucosa, Wntl. Wnt3a. and Axin2 mRNA expression were locali zed in basal cell layer suggesting that canonical Wnt is required for maintenance of self-renewal program of cervica l epi theli al cells. With progression to cervical int r aepithelial neoplasia (CIN) and carcinoma. Wntl, Wnt3a‘ Axin2, and Snail expression were gradually increased in patient samples suggesting that canonical Wnt pathway is involved in earl y step of carcinogenesis in uterine cervix. LRP6 and Axin2 transfected cells showed the highly increased nuclear Snai l resul ted from dec reased level 0 1' nu clear GSK3ß , indicating that LRP6- Axin2 serves to stabili ze Sna il protein levels and susLains iLs nllclear acc llrnulation by driv ing GSK3ß . RNA interference of Axin2 and Snail on SiHa cells relieved E-cadherin proximal promotel‘ activity and block the in 띠 vo chorioalantoic membra ne ln VaSlOn These results suggest the canon ical Wnt signa ling regul ating Axin2-GSK3ß compartmentalization may important for stabi li zation of E- cad herin repressor Snail during the multistep carcinogen ic process of uteri ne cervix. It may lead to not only tracing the proper biomarker 0 [' ca ncer progression‘ but a lso the development oJ new targets for therapeutic intervention in cancer

• Hyun Sil Kim(Department of Oral Pathology, Oral Cancer Research Institute, Yonsei University College of Dentistry)
• Ju kyoung Ryu(Department of Oral Pathology, Oral Cancer Research Institute, Yonsei University College of Dentistry)
• 50 Young Cha(Department of Oral Pathology, Oral Cancer Research Institute, Yonsei University College of Dentistry)
• Nam Hee Kim(Department of Oral Pathology, Oral Cancer Research Institute, Yonsei University College of Dentistry)
• Sang Hwy Lee(0ral Cancer Research Institute, Oral Science Resea rch Center, Yonsei University C이lege of Dentistry)
• Yoon Jung Chol(Department of Pathology, National Hea lth Insurance Corporation IIsan Hospital) | Yoon Jung ChoI
• Jong In Yook(Department of Oral Pathology, Oral Cancer Research Institute, Yonsei University College of Dentistry)