Role of Wnt/β-catenin-Snail axis in epithelial-mesenchymal transition towards formation of colorectal cancer

β-catenin is one of the key components in the Wnt signaling pathway which is responsible for the development of colonesphere and E-cadherin cell adhesion complex. Activation of canonical Wnt signaling pathway followed by the activation of β-catenin/TCF/LEF transcription complexes have been shown to target genes involved in epithelial mesenchymal transition (EMT) programs. Moreover, downregulation of E-cadherin expression is a hallmark of EMT and is mediated by β-catenin thorough the inhibition of the E-cadherin promoter. This review will depict the above mentioned processes that are co-ordinated by β-catenin, towards EMT and the formation of colon cancer via transcriptional repression of SNAIL family proteins under hypoxic condition.