DKK2 explained

Dickkopf-related protein 2 is a protein in the Dickkopf family that in humans is encoded by the DKK2 gene.^{[1] [2]}

This gene encodes a protein that is a member of the dickkopf family. The secreted protein contains two cysteine rich regions and is involved in embryonic development through its interactions with the Wnt signaling pathway.

It can act as either an agonist or antagonist of Wnt/beta-catenin signaling, depending on the cellular context and the presence of the co-factor kremen 2. Activity of this protein is also modulated by binding to the Wnt co-receptor LDL-receptor related protein 6 (LRP6).

See also

• Hairy palms and soles^[3]

Further reading

• Wu W, Glinka A, Delius H, Niehrs C . Mutual antagonism between dickkopf1 and dickkopf2 regulates Wnt/beta-catenin signalling . Current Biology . 10 . 24 . 1611–4 . 2001 . 11137016 . 10.1016/S0960-9822(00)00868-X . 6397269 . free .
• Mao B, Wu W, Li Y, Hoppe D, Stannek P, Glinka A, Niehrs C . LDL-receptor-related protein 6 is a receptor for Dickkopf proteins . Nature . 411 . 6835 . 321–5 . May 2001 . 11357136 . 10.1038/35077108 . 4323027 .
• Li L, Mao J, Sun L, Liu W, Wu D . Second cysteine-rich domain of Dickkopf-2 activates canonical Wnt signaling pathway via LRP-6 independently of dishevelled . The Journal of Biological Chemistry . 277 . 8 . 5977–81 . February 2002 . 11742004 . 10.1074/jbc.M111131200 . free .
• Brott BK, Sokol SY . Regulation of Wnt/LRP signaling by distinct domains of Dickkopf proteins . Molecular and Cellular Biology . 22 . 17 . 6100–10 . September 2002 . 12167704 . 133995 . 10.1128/MCB.22.17.6100-6110.2002 .
• Mao B, Niehrs C . Kremen2 modulates Dickkopf2 activity during Wnt/LRP6 signaling . Gene . 302 . 1–2 . 179–83 . January 2003 . 12527209 . 10.1016/S0378-1119(02)01106-X .
• Kuphal S, Lodermeyer S, Bataille F, Schuierer M, Hoang BH, Bosserhoff AK . Expression of Dickkopf genes is strongly reduced in malignant melanoma . Oncogene . 25 . 36 . 5027–36 . August 2006 . 16568085 . 10.1038/sj.onc.1209508 . 12065588 .

Notes and References

1. Krupnik VE, Sharp JD, Jiang C, Robison K, Chickering TW, Amaravadi L, Brown DE, Guyot D, Mays G, Leiby K, Chang B, Duong T, Goodearl AD, Gearing DP, Sokol SY, McCarthy SA . 6 . Functional and structural diversity of the human Dickkopf gene family . Gene . 238 . 2 . 301–13 . October 1999 . 10570958 . 10.1016/S0378-1119(99)00365-0 .
2. Web site: Entrez Gene: DKK2 dickkopf homolog 2 (Xenopus laevis).
3. Song Y, Boncompagni AC, Kim SS, Gochnauer HR, Zhang Y, Loots GG, Wu D, Li Y, Xu M, Millar SE . 6 . Regional Control of Hairless versus Hair-Bearing Skin by Dkk2 . Cell Reports . 25 . 11 . 2981–2991.e3 . December 2018 . 30509557 . 6345517 . 10.1016/j.celrep.2018.11.017 .