Super-Top-Flash Luciferase Reporter Cell Line for Canonical Wnt Signaling

Unmet Need
Canonical Wnt signaling, a highly conserved developmental across evolution, plays a major role in the maintenance of homeostasis in diverse adult tissues. New experimental tools, including qualitative reagents, are necessary for the study of the pathway and the development of safe and specific Wnt inhibitors.

Technology Overview
Researchers at Johns Hopkins have developed a HEK293 cell line that is a stable reporter of canonical Wnt signaling.  The cell line, which contains a luciferase reporter under control of 7 LEF/TCF binding sites, utilizes the Super TOPFlash system. The cells have been shown by the inventors to respond to activators of the canonical Wnt pathway in mice, inducing luciferase activity by 1000x.

Stage of Development
The inventors have developed and characterized the cell line using in vitro assays, demonstrating that the cells respond to transfection with constitutively active forms of mLrp6 and mβ-catenin.

Publication
Cell 2004
 

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