- Wnt signaling pathway
The "Wnt" signaling pathway describes a complex network of
protein s most well known for their roles inembryogenesis andcancer , but also involved in normal physiological processes in adult animals.cite journal | author = Lie DC, Colamarino SA, Song HJ, Désiré L, Mira H, Consiglio A, Lein ES, Jessberger S, Lansford H, Dearie AR, Gage FH | title = Wnt signalling regulates adult hippocampal neurogenesis | journal = Nature | volume = 437 | issue = 7063 | pages = 1370–5 | year = 2005 | month = October | pmid = 16251967 | doi = 10.1038/nature04108 | url = | issn = ]Discovery
The name Wnt was coined as a combination of Wg (wingless) and Int cite journal | author = Rijsewijk F, Schuermann M, Wagenaar E, Parren P, Weigel D, Nusse R | title = The Drosophila homolog of the mouse mammary oncogene int-1 is identical to the segment polarity gene wingless | journal = Cell | volume = 50 | issue = 4 | pages = 649–57 | year = 1987 | month = August | pmid = 3111720 | doi = 10.1016/0092-8674(87)90038-9 | url = | issn = ] and can be pronounced as 'wint'. The "wingless" gene had originally been identified as a segment polarity gene in "
Drosophila melanogaster " that functions during embryogenesiscite journal | author = Nüsslein-Volhard C, Wieschaus E | title = Mutations affecting segment number and polarity in Drosophila | journal = Nature | volume = 287 | issue = 5785 | pages = 795–801 | year = 1980 | month = October | pmid = 6776413 | url = | issn = ] and also during adult limb formation during metamorphosis.cite journal | author = Wu J, Cohen SM | title = Repression of Teashirt marks the initiation of wing development | journal = Development | volume = 129 | issue = 10 | pages = 2411–8 | year = 2002 | month = May | pmid = 11973273 | url = http://dev.biologists.org/cgi/content/abstract/129/10/2411 | issn = ] The INT genes were originally identified as vertebrate genes near several integration sites of mouse mammary tumor virus (MMTV).R. Nusse, A. van Ooyen, D. Cox, Y. K. Fung and H. Varmus (1984) "Mode of proviral activation of a putative mammaryoncogene (int-1) on mouse chromosome 15" in "Nature" Volume 307, pages 131-136.Entrez Pubmed|6318122.] The Int-1 gene and the wingless gene were found to be homologous, with a common evolutionary origin evidenced by similar amino acid sequences of their encoded proteins.Mutations of the "wingless" gene in the fruit fly were found in wingless flies, while tumors caused by MMTV were found to have copies of the virus integrated into the genome forcing overproduction of one of several Wnt genes. The ensuing effort to understand how similar genes produce such different effects has revealed that Wnts are a major class of secreted morphogenic ligands of profound importance in establishing the pattern of development in the bodies of all multicellular organisms studied.
Members
The following is a list of human genes that encode WNT signaling proteins:cite journal | author = Katoh Y, Katoh M | title = Identification and characterization of rat Wnt6 and Wnt10a genes in silico | journal = Int. J. Mol. Med. | volume = 15 | issue = 3 | pages = 527–31 | year = 2005 | month = March | pmid = 15702249 | url = | issn = ]
*WNT1
*WNT2 ,WNT2B
*WNT3 ,WNT3A
*WNT4
*WNT5A ,WNT5B
*WNT6
*WNT7A ,WNT7B
*WNT8A ,WNT8B
*WNT9A ,WNT9B
*WNT10A
*WNT10B ,WNT11
*WNT16 Mechanism
The Wnt pathway involves a large number of proteins that can regulate the production of Wnt signaling molecules, their interactions with receptors on target cells and the physiological responses of target cells that result from the exposure of cells to the
extracellular Wntligands . Although the presence and strength of any given effect depends on the Wnt ligand, cell type, and organism, some components of the signaling pathway are remarkably conserved in a wide variety of organisms, from "Caenorhabditis elegans " tohuman s. Protein homology suggests that several distinct Wnt ligands were present in the common ancestor of all bilaterian life, and certain aspects of Wnt signaling are present in sponges and even inslime molds .The canonical Wnt pathway describes a series of events that occur when Wnt proteins bind to cell-surface receptors of the Frizzled family, causing the receptors to activate Dishevelled family proteins and ultimately resulting in a change in the amount of β-catenin that reaches the nucleus (Figure 2). Dishevelled (DSH) is a key component of a membrane-associated Wnt receptor complex (Figure 2) which, when activated by Wnt binding, inhibits a second complex of proteins that includes axin,
GSK-3 , and the protein APC (Figure 1). The axin/GSK-3/APC complex normally promotes the proteolytic degradation of the β-catenin intracellular signaling molecule. After this "β-catenin destruction complex" is inhibited, a pool of cytoplasmic β-catenin stabilizes, and some β-catenin is able to enter the nucleus and interact with TCF/LEF family transcription factors to promote specific gene expression (interaction 2, Figure 2). Some additional details of the pathway are described below.Cell surface Frizzled (FRZ) proteins usually interact with a transmembrane protein called LRP (Figure 2).cite journal | author = Wehrli M, Dougan ST, Caldwell K, O'Keefe L, Schwartz S, Vaizel-Ohayon D, Schejter E, Tomlinson A, DiNardo S | title = arrow encodes an LDL-receptor-related protein essential for Wingless signalling | journal = Nature | volume = 407 | issue = 6803 | pages = 527–30 | year = 2000 | month = September | pmid = 11029006 | doi = 10.1038/35035110 | url = | issn = ] LRP binds Frizzled, Wnt and axin and may stabilize a Wnt/Frizzled/LRP/Discheveled/axin complex at the cell surface ("receptor complex" in Figure 2).
In vertebrates, several secreted proteins have been described that can modulate Wnt signaling by either binding to Wntscite journal | author = Kawano Y, Kypta R | title = Secreted antagonists of the Wnt signalling pathway | journal = J. Cell. Sci. | volume = 116 | issue = Pt 13 | pages = 2627–34 | year = 2003 | month = July | pmid = 12775774 | doi = 10.1242/jcs.00623 | url = | issn = ] or binding to a Wnt receptor protein. For example, Sclerostin (not shown in a figure) can bind to LRP and inhibit Wnt signaling.cite journal | author = Li X, Zhang Y, Kang H, Liu W, Liu P, Zhang J, Harris SE, Wu D | title = Sclerostin binds to LRP5/6 and antagonizes canonical Wnt signaling | journal = J. Biol. Chem. | volume = 280 | issue = 20 | pages = 19883–7 | year = 2005 | month = May | pmid = 15778503 | doi = 10.1074/jbc.M413274200 | url = | issn = ]
The part of the pathway linking the cell surface Wnt-activated Wnt receptor complex to the prevention of β-catenin degradation is still under investigation. There is evidence that trimeric G proteins (G in Figure 2) can function downstream from Frizzled. [V. Katanaev, R. Ponzielli, M. Sémériva and A. Tomlinson (2005) "Trimeric G protein-dependent frizzled signaling in Drosophila" in Cell Volume 120, pages 111-122. Entrez Pubmed|15652486] It has been suggested that Wnt-activated G proteins participate in the disassembly of the axin/GSK3 complex.cite journal | author = Liu X, Rubin JS, Kimmel AR | title = Rapid, Wnt-induced changes in GSK3beta associations that regulate beta-catenin stabilization are mediated by Galpha proteins | journal = Curr. Biol. | volume = 15 | issue = 22 | pages = 1989–97 | year = 2005 | month = November | pmid = 16303557 | doi = 10.1016/j.cub.2005.10.050 | url = | issn = ]
Several protein kinases and
protein phosphatase s have been associated with the ability of the cell surface Wnt-activated Wnt receptor complex to bind axin and disassemble the axin/GSK3 complex.cite journal | author = Nusse R | title = Cell biology: relays at the membrane | journal = Nature | volume = 438 | issue = 7069 | pages = 747–9 | year = 2005 | month = December | pmid = 16340998 | doi = 10.1038/438747a | url = http://www.stanford.edu/~rnusse/reviews/NaVReviewFinal438747a.pdf | issn = ] Phosphorylation of the cytoplasmic domain of LRP by CK1 and GSK3 can regulate axin binding to LRP (interaction 1 in Figure 2). The protein kinase activity of GSK3 appears to be important for both the formation of the mebrane-associated Wnt/FRZ/LRP/DSH/Axin complex and the function of the Axin/APC/GSK3/β-catenin complex. Phosphorylation of β-catenin by GSK3 leads to the destruction of β-catenin (Figure 1).Ligands which act on Wnt signaling
* 2-amino-4- [3,4-(methylenedioxy)benzyl-amino] -6-(3-methoxyphenyl)pyrimidine as an agonist of Wnt signaling.cite journal | author = Liu J, Wu X, Mitchell B, Kintner C, Ding S, Schultz PG | title = A small-molecule agonist of the Wnt signaling pathway | journal = Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. Engl. | volume = 44 | issue = 13 | pages = 1987–90 | year = 2005 | month = March | pmid = 15724259 | doi = 10.1002/anie.200462552 | url = | issn = ]
Wnt-induced cell responses
Several important effects of the canonical Wnt pathway include:
* Cancers. Alterations of Wnts, APC, axin, and TCFs are all associated with carcinogenesis.
* Body axis specification. Injection of Xenopus eggs with Wnt inhibitors is involved in the development of a second head. Wnt is extensively involved in formation of the posterior nervous system and are released by tail "organizers".
* Morphogenic signaling. Wnts produced from specific sites, such as the edge of the developing fly wing or the ventral edge of the neural tube of the developing vertebrate, are distributed throughout adjacent tissues in a gradient fashion. The Wnt pathway becomes activated to different degrees in cells of these tissues depending on how close they are to the production site, leading to subtle but crucial differences in the level of genes regulated by the Wnt pathway.
Non-canonical Wnt signaling is associated with other activities, such as:
Planar cell polarity
An example of the control of planar cell polarity in insects like "Drosophila" is determining which direction the tiny hairs on the wings of a fly are aligned.cite journal | author = Fanto M, McNeill H | title = Planar polarity from flies to vertebrates | journal = J. Cell. Sci. | volume = 117 | issue = Pt 4 | pages = 527–33 | year = 2004 | month = February | pmid = 14730010 | doi = 10.1242/jcs.00973 | url = | issn = ] Planar cell polarity is distinct from and perpendicular to apical/basal polarity. The signaling pathway that is involved in planar cell polarity includes
frizzled anddishevelled but not the axin complex proteins. The non-classicalcadherin s Fat, Dachsous and Flamingo can apparently modulate frizzled function. Other proteins including prickle, strabismus, rhoA and rho-kinase act downstream of frizzled and dishevelled to regulate the cytoskeleton and planar cell polarity.cite journal | author = Povelones M, Howes R, Fish M, Nusse R | title = Genetic evidence that Drosophila frizzled controls planar cell polarity and Armadillo signaling by a common mechanism | journal = Genetics | volume = 171 | issue = 4 | pages = 1643–54 | year = 2005 | month = December | pmid = 16085697 | pmc = 1456092 | doi = 10.1534/genetics.105.045245 | url = | issn = ]Some of the proteins involved in planar cell patterning of the "Drosophila" wing are used in vertebrates during regulation of cell movements during events such as
gastrulation . A common feature of both hair patterning in "Drosophila" and cell movements such as vertebrate gastrulation is control ofactin filaments by G proteins such as Rho and Rac.cite journal | author = Habas R, Dawid IB, He X | title = Coactivation of Rac and Rho by Wnt/Frizzled signaling is required for vertebrate gastrulation | journal = Genes Dev. | volume = 17 | issue = 2 | pages = 295–309 | year = 2003 | month = January | pmid = 12533515 | pmc = 195976 | doi = 10.1101/gad.1022203 | url = | issn = ]Axon Guidance
The Wnt Receptor Ryk is required for Wnt mediated axon guidance on the controlateral side of the
corpus callosum .cite journal | author = Keeble TR, Halford MM, Seaman C, Kee N, Macheda M, Anderson RB, Stacker SA, Cooper HM | title = The Wnt receptor Ryk is required for Wnt5a-mediated axon guidance on the contralateral side of the corpus callosum | journal = J. Neurosci. | volume = 26 | issue = 21 | pages = 5840–8 | year = 2006 | month = May | pmid = 16723543 | doi = 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.1175-06.2006 | url = | issn = ]tem cells
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