Selected Publications:

Spencer Z, Ng VH, Benchabane H, Siddiqui GS, Duwadi D, Maines B, Bryant JM, Schwarzkopf A, Yuan K, Kassel SN, Mishra A, Pimentel A, Lebensohn AM, Rohatgi R, Gerber SA, Robbins DJ, Lee E* and Ahmed Y* (2023). The USP46 deubiquitylase complex increases Wingless/Wnt signaling strength by stabilizing Arrow/LRP6. Nature Communications 14:6174. *co-corresponding authors [Link]

Ng VH, Spencer Z, Neitzel LR, Nayak A, Loberg MA, Shen C, Kassel SN, Kroh HK , An Z, Anthony CC, Bryant JM, Lawson A, Goldsmith L, Benchabane H, Hansen AG, Li J, D'Souza S, Lebensohn AM, Rohatgi R, Weiss WA, Weiss VL, Williams C, Hong CC, Robbins DJ, Ahmed Y* and Lee E* (2023). The USP46 complex deubiquitylates LRP6 to promote Wnt/β-catenin signaling. Nature Communications 14:6173. *co-corresponding authors [Link]

Cantoria MJ, Alizadeh E, Ravi J, Bunnag N, Kettenbach AN, Ahmed Y, Paek AL, Tyson JJ, Doubrovinski K, Lee E, Thorne CA (2023). Feedback in the β-catenin destruction complex imparts bistability and cellular memory, PNAS 120:e2208787120. [Link]

Kassel S, Hanson AJ, Benchabane H, Saito-Diaz K, Cabel CR, Goldsmith L, Taha M, Kanuganti A, Ng VH, Xu G, Ye F, Picker J, Port F, Boutros M, Weiss VL, Robbins DJ, Thorne CA, Ahmed Y*, and Lee E* (2023). USP47 deubiquitinates Groucho/TLE to Promote Wnt/beta-catenin Signaling. Science Signaling 16:eabn8372 *co-corresponding authors [Link]

Shen C, Nayak A, Neitzel LR, Yang F, Williams CH, Hong CC, Ahmed Y, Lee E, Robbins DJ (2022). The Casein kinase 1α agonist pyrvinium attenuates Wnt-mediated CK1α degradation via interaction with the E3 ubiquitin ligase component Cereblon. JBC 298:102227.  [Link]

Shen C, Nayak A, Neitzel LR, Adams AA, Silver-IsenstadtM, Sawyer LM, Benchabane H, Wang H, Bunnag N, Li B, Wynn DT, Yang F, Garcia-Contreras M, Williams CH, Dakshanamurthy S, Hong CC, Ayad NG, Capobianco AJ, Ahmed Y, Lee E, Robbins DJ (2021). The E3 Ubiquitin Ligase Component, Cereblon, is an Evolutionarily Conserved Regulator of Wnt Signaling. Nature Communications 12:5263. [Link]

Anthony CC, Robbins DJ, Ahmed Y and Lee E (2020). Nuclear Regulation of Wnt/β-Catenin Signaling: It’s a Complex Situation. Genes 11:886. [Link]

Shen C, Nayak A, Melendez R, Wynn D, Jackson J, Lee E, Ahmed Y, and Robbins D (2020). Casein Kinase 1α as a regulator of Wnt-driven cancer. Int. J. Mol. Sci 21: 5940. [Link]

Cabel CR, Alizadeh E, Robbins DJ, Ahmed Y, Lee E, and Thorne CA (2019). Single cell analyses confirm the critical role of LRP6 for Wnt signaling in APC-deficient cells. Developmental Cell 49: 827-828. [Link]

Tian A, Duwadi D, Benchabane H, and Ahmed Y (2019). Essential long-range action of Wingless/Wnt in adult intestinal compartmentalization. PLOS Genetics 15: e1008111. [Link]

· Featured in: Steward RA, Ramakrishnan, A-B, and Cadigan KM (2019). Diffusion and function of Wnt ligands. PLoS Genetics 15: e1008154.

Wang Z, Tacchelly-Benites O, Noble GP, Johnson MK, Gagné J-P, Poirier GG, and Ahmed Y (2019). A context-dependent role for the RNF146 ubiquitin ligase in Wingless/Wnt signaling in Drosophila. Genetics 211: 913-923. [Link]

Neitzel LR, Spencer ZT, Nayak A, Cselenyi CS, Benchabane H, Youngblood CQ, Zouaoui A, Ng V, Stephens L, Hann T, Patton JG, Robbins D, Ahmed Y, and Lee E (2019) Developmental regulation of Wnt signaling by Nagk and the UDP-GlcNAc salvage pathway. Mech Dev 156:20-31. [Link]

Tacchelly-Benites O, Wang Z, Yang E, Benchabane H, Tian A, Randall MP, and Ahmed Y (2018). Axin phosphorylation in both Wnt-Off and Wnt-On states requires the tumor suppressor APC. PLOS Genetics 14: e1007178. [Link]

Tian A, Benchabane H, and Ahmed Y (2018) Wingless/Wnt signaling in intestinal homeostasis and tumorigenesis: a Drosophila perspective. J. Dev Biol 6: E8. [Link]

Saito-Diaz K, Benchabane H, Tiwari A, Tian A, Li B, Hyde AS, Sawyer LM, Jodoin JN, Santos E, Lee LA, Coffey RJ, Beauchamp RD, Kenworthy A, Robbins DJ, Ahmed Y*, and Lee E* (2018). APC inhibits ligand-independent Wnt signaling by the clathrin endocytic pathway. Developmental Cell 44: 566-581 (*co-corresponding authors). [Link]

· Featured in: McGough IJ and Vincent JP (2018). APC moonlights to prevent Wnt signalosome assembly. Developmental Cell 44: 535-7.

Tian A, Benchabane H, Wang Z, Zimmerman C, Xin N, Perochon J, Kalna G, Sansom OJ, Cheng C, Cordero JB, and Ahmed Y (2017). Intestinal stem cell overproliferation resulting from inactivation of the APC tumor suppressor requires the transcription cofactors Earthbound and Erect Wing. PLOS Genetics 13: e1006870. [Link]

Tian A, Benchabane H, Wang Z, and Ahmed Y (2016). Regulation of stem cell proliferation and cell fate specification by Wingless/Wnt signaling gradients enriched at adult intestinal compartment boundaries. PLoS Genetics 12: e1005822. [Link]

Yang E, Tacchelly-Benites O, Wang Z, Randall MP, Tian A, Benchabane H, Freemantle S, Pikielny C, Tolwinski NS, Lee E, and Ahmed Y (2016). Wnt pathway activation by ADP-ribosylation. Nature Communications 7:11430 [Link]

Wang Z, Tian A, Benchabane H, Tacchelly-Benites O, Yang E, Nojima H, and Ahmed Y (2016). The ADP-Ribose Polymerase Tankyrase Regulates Adult Intestinal Stem Cell Proliferation During Homeostasis in Drosophila. Development 143: 1710. [Link]

Wang Z, Tacchelly-Benites O, Yang E, Thorne CA, Nojima H, Lee E and Ahmed Y (2016). Wingless/Wnt pathway activation is promoted by a critical threshold of Axin maintained by the APC tumor suppressor and the ADP-ribose polymerase Tankyrase. Genetics 115: 183244. [Link]

Wang Z, Tacchelly-Benites O, Yang E, and Ahmed Y (2016). Dual roles for membrane association of Drosophila Axin in Wnt signaling. PLOS Genetics 12: e1006494. [Link]

Lebensohn AM, Dubey R, Neitzel LR, Tacchelly-Benites O, Yang E, Marceau CD, Ma Y, Davis EM, Patel BB, Bahrami-Nejad Z, Ahmed Y, Lee E, Carette J and Rohatgi R (2016). Comparative genetic screens in human cells reveal new regulatory mechanisms in WNT signaling. eLife 10.7554/eLife.21459 [Link]