Selective activation mechanisms of Wnt signaling pathways

Wnts comprise a large family of secreted, hydrophobic glycoproteins that control a variety of developmental and adult processes in all metazoan organisms, including cellular proliferation, differentiation, migration and polarity. Wnts have many receptors that are present on a variety of cell types,...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Trends in cell biology 2009-03, Vol.19 (3), p.119-129
Main Authors: Kikuchi, Akira, Yamamoto, Hideki, Sato, Akira
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animals
Cell Differentiation - physiology
Cell Movement - physiology
Cell Polarity - physiology
Cell Proliferation
Humans
Pathology
Signal Transduction - physiology
Wnt Proteins - metabolism
Wnt Proteins - physiology
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Summary:Wnts comprise a large family of secreted, hydrophobic glycoproteins that control a variety of developmental and adult processes in all metazoan organisms, including cellular proliferation, differentiation, migration and polarity. Wnts have many receptors that are present on a variety of cell types, partly specifying which Wnt pathways are activated. Recently, evidence has been accumulating that specificity of activation downstream of Wnt is also regulated by receptor-mediated endocytosis and the presence of cofactors such as heparan sulfate proteoglycans, in addition to the formation of specific ligand-receptor pairs. Here, we describe how the different endocytic routes of Wnt receptors through caveolin and clathrin determine specificity of Wnt signaling in vertebrates.
ISSN:0962-8924
1879-3088
DOI:10.1016/j.tcb.2009.01.003