Cyclin D1 is not an essential target of beta-catenin signaling during intestinal tumorigenesis, but it may act as a modifier of disease severity in multiple intestinal neoplasia (Min) mice.

Deregulation of beta-catenin activity is an important step in the development of colorectal cancers. One consequence of this is transcriptional activation of cyclin D1, an oncogene known to be overexpressed in colorectal cancers. We tested the hypothesis that cyclin D1 gene activation is important for intestinal tumorigenesis.