LEF-1 (C-19) Antibody: sc-8592

LEF-1 Background Information
The TCF (T cell factor) family of transcription factors are activated by the Wnt-1 and Wingless pathways and are characterized by the presence of a conserved protein motif, the high mobility group (HMG) 1 box, which mediates DNA binding. The TCF (T cell factor) proteins, which are required during development, include TCF-1, which is essential for lymphoid cell development, and TCF-3 and TCF-4, which are implicated in neuronal development and LEF (lymphoid enhancer factor).The Wnt mediated signaling pathway induces cytosolic ß-catenin binding to TCF proteins within the nucleus, leading to the enhanced expression of the Wnt target genes. The ß-catenin-TCF complexes are negatively regulated by the adenomatous polyposis coli (APC) tumor suppressor protein, which phosphorylates ß-catenin and, in turn, increases the degradation of cytosolic ß-catenin to, thereby, inhibit the transcriptional activity of the TCF proteins. Mutations in the APC gene, which are commonly observed in colorectal carcinomas, disrupt this regulatory pathway and correlate to an accumulation of ß-catenin and the increased activation of the TCF target genes.