Secreted and transmembrane wnt inhibitors and activators

CM Cruciat, C Niehrs - Cold Spring Harbor perspectives …, 2013 - cshperspectives.cshlp.org
CM Cruciat, C Niehrs
Cold Spring Harbor perspectives in biology, 2013cshperspectives.cshlp.org
Signaling by the Wnt family of secreted glycoproteins plays important roles in embryonic
development and adult homeostasis. Wnt signaling is modulated by a number of
evolutionarily conserved inhibitors and activators. Wnt inhibitors belong to small protein
families, including sFRP, Dkk, WIF, Wise/SOST, Cerberus, IGFBP, Shisa, Waif1, APCDD1,
and Tiki1. Their common feature is to antagonize Wnt signaling by preventing ligand–
receptor interactions or Wnt receptor maturation. Conversely, the Wnt activators, R-spondin …
Signaling by the Wnt family of secreted glycoproteins plays important roles in embryonic development and adult homeostasis. Wnt signaling is modulated by a number of evolutionarily conserved inhibitors and activators. Wnt inhibitors belong to small protein families, including sFRP, Dkk, WIF, Wise/SOST, Cerberus, IGFBP, Shisa, Waif1, APCDD1, and Tiki1. Their common feature is to antagonize Wnt signaling by preventing ligand–receptor interactions or Wnt receptor maturation. Conversely, the Wnt activators, R-spondin and Norrin, promote Wnt signaling by binding to Wnt receptors or releasing a Wnt-inhibitory step. With few exceptions, these antagonists and agonists are not pure Wnt modulators, but also affect additional signaling pathways, such as TGF-β and FGF signaling. Here we discuss their interactions with Wnt ligands and Wnt receptors, their role in developmental processes, as well as their implication in disease.
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