DKK1 Protein (Active)

Dickkopf-related protein 1 is a protein that in humans is encoded by the DKK1 gene. DKK1 is one of the most upregulated genes in androgen potentiated balding, with DKK-1 messenger RNA upregulated a 3-6 hours after DHT treatment of hair follicles at the dermal papilla in vitro. DKK-1 expression is attenuated by L-threonate in vitro, with the latter a metabolite of ascorbate. DKK-1 gene is transcriptionally silenced by CpG island promoter hypermethylation in colon cancer cell lines, whereas treatment with the DNA-demethylating agent 5-aza-2-deoxycytidine restored DKK-1 expression. In primary colorectal tumors, DKK-1 was found hypermethylated in 17% of cases. Furthermore, while for both secreted frizzled-related proteins (sFRPs) and Wnt inhibitory factor-1 (WIF-1) methylation-associated silencing occurred across the whole spectrum of colorectal tumorigenesis, DKK-1 promoter was selectively hypermethylated in advanced colorectal neoplasms (Duke's C and D tumors) .

1. Kwack, M. H.; Sung, Y. K.; Chung, E. J.; Im, S. U.; Ahn, J. S.; Kim, M. K.; Kim, J. C. (2007) . "Dihydrotestosterone-Inducible Dickkopf 1 from Balding Dermal Papilla Cells Causes Apoptosis in Follicular Keratinocytes". Journal of Investigative Dermatology 128 (2) : 262–269. 2. Kwack, M. H.; Ahn, J. S.; Kim, M. K.; Kim, J. C.; Sung, Y. K. (2010) . "Preventable effect of L-threonate, an ascorbate metabolite, on androgen-driven balding via repression of dihydrotestosteroneinduced dickkopf-1 expression in human hair dermal papilla cells". BMB Reports 43 (10) : 688–692. 3. Aguilera O, Fraga MF, Ballestar E, et al. (2006) . "Epigenetic inactivation of the Wnt antagonist DICKKOPF-1 (DKK-1) gene in human colorectal cancer". Oncogene 25 (29) : 4116–21.