Glypican-3 (GPC3) belongs to a family of cell surface proteoglycans. GPC3 regulates the activity of several morphogens and growth factors that play critical roles during development. Disrupting the function of GPC3 leads to disease, including the overgrowth disease Simpson Golabi Behmel Syndrome (SGBS) and Cancer. Previous work has shown that GPC3 is over expressed in Hepatocellular Carcinoma (HCC), and that HCC proliferation is stimulated through GPC3 mediated activation of the Wnt signaling pathway. Glypicans are known to regulate Wnt signaling in a variety of model organisms including Drosophila and mouse. This work investigates the hypothesis that GPC3 stimulates Wnt signaling by facilitating/stabilizing the interaction between Wnt and its receptor Frizzled (Fzd). Consistent with this hypothesis, we found that GPC3 is able to bind both Wnt and Fzd. The binding of GPC3 to Fzd is mediated by the GPC3 glycosaminoglycan chains and by the cysteine rich domain of Fzd.

Glypican-3 (GPC3) belongs to a family of cell surface proteoglycans. GPC3 regulates the activity of several morphogens and growth factors that play critical roles during development. Disrupting the function of GPC3 leads to disease, including the overgrowth disease Simpson Golabi Behmel Syndrome (SGBS) and Cancer. Previous work has shown that GPC3 is over expressed in Hepatocellular Carcinoma (HCC), and that HCC proliferation is stimulated through GPC3 mediated activation of the Wnt signaling pathway. Glypicans are known to regulate Wnt signaling in a variety of model organisms including Drosophila and mouse. This work investigates the hypothesis that GPC3 stimulates Wnt signaling by facilitating/stabilizing the interaction between Wnt and its receptor Frizzled (Fzd). Consistent with this hypothesis, we found that GPC3 is able to bind both Wnt and Fzd. The binding of GPC3 to Fzd is mediated by the GPC3 glycosaminoglycan chains and by the cysteine rich domain of Fzd.