Axing Wnt signals

• 来源期刊: 细胞研究（英文版）
• 年，卷（期）: 2012,（1）
• 页码范围: 9-11
• 页数: 3页
• 语种: 英文
• DOI: 10.1038/cr.2011.141

摘要

Wnt signaling is a highly conserved and context-dependent signal transduction pathway that belongs to the so-called morphogens.Wnt signals are instrumental during development,but also play a central role in tissue homeostasis.For instance,in the intestine Wnt signaling is crucial for both stem cell maintenance and proliferation in the transient amplifying compartment [ 1].This Wnt-dependent stem cell regulatory role is observed in diverse adult tissues,but is not a general feature as Wnt signals can also drive differentiation of cells,such as mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) [2].Wnt signaling can be divided into a canonical and a noncanonical pathway.The non-canonical pathway mainly mediates migration,while the canonical signals are mostly conveyed by β-catenin,a transcription factor that is actively repressed in the cytoplasm in the absence of Wnt signals.β-catenin levels are kept under control by a multi-protein complex composed of the tumor suppressor adenomatous polyposis coli (APC);two kinases,casein kinase 1 (CK1) and glycogen synthase kinase 3 beta (GSK3-β);and Axin2 that serves as a scaffold to hold the complex together.