Oncogenic Wnt/B-catenin signaling occurs in a majority of colorectal cancers. In contrast, very little is known about the role of the nontransforming Wnt protein family member Wnt5a in those tumors. In the most common of the three colon cancer stages, Dukes B or lymph node–negative, the outcome is the hardest to predict. We searched for a predictive marker in this group and observed loss of or ...

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a fatal neurodegenerative disease characterized by progressive paralysis due to the selective death of motor neurons of unknown causes. Increasing evidence indicates that Wnt signaling is altered in ALS. In this study, we focused on two non-canonical Wnt signaling components, atypical PKC (aPKC) and a Wnt receptor, Ryk, in a mouse model of ALS, SOD1 (G93A)...

Drosophila Frizzled-2 (Dfz2) has been identified as a putative fly Wingless (Wg) receptor. Although Dfz2 shows significant homology with Fz, a protein that operates in the mechanisms that establish planar polarity in Drosophila epithelia, any clear evidence for an involvement by Fz in a Wnt signaling pathway has hitherto been absent. Here we describe the planar polarity phenotypes of loss-of-fu...

Objective(s): Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the leading fatal neoplasms and the most common primary liver malignancy worldwide. Peptide hormone ANGPTL8 (betatrophin) may act as an important regulator in HCC development through the Wnt/β-catenin pathway. We aimed to evaluate the effects of recombinant ANGPTL8 on Wnt/β-catenin signaling in human liver carcinom...

We propose that ageing is linked to colonic carcinogenesis through crosstalk between Wnt activity and signalling pathways related to ageing and senescence: progerin, klotho and mTOR. Mutations in the Wnt signalling pathway are responsible for the majority of colorectal cancers (CRCs); however, hyperactivation of Wnt signalling by butyrate, a breakdown product of dietary fibre, induces CRC cell ...

Wnts play pivotal roles during development and in the mature nervous system. However, the mechanism by which Wnts traffic between cells has remained elusive. Here we demonstrate a mechanism of Wnt transmission through release of exosome-like vesicles containing the Wnt-binding protein Evenness Interrupted/Wntless/Sprinter (Evi/Wls/Srt). We show that at the Drosophila larval neuromuscular juncti...

Hilar cholangiocarcinoma (HCCA) is an invasive hepatic malignancy that is difficult to biopsy; therefore, novel markers of HCCA prognosis are needed. Here, the level of canonical Wnt activation in patients with HCCA, intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (IHCC), and congenital choledochal cysts (CCC) was compared to understand the role of Wnt signaling in HCCA. Pathology specimens from HCCA (n=129), ...

Wnt proteins comprise a major family of signaling molecules that orchestrate and influence a myriad of cell biological and developmental processes. Although our understanding of the role of Wnt signaling in regulating development and affecting disease, such as cancer, has been ever increasing, the study of the Wnt proteins themselves has been painstaking and slow moving. Despite advances in the...

The complexity of canonical Wnt signaling comes not only from the numerous components but also from multiple post-translational modifications. Protein phosphorylation is one of the most common modifications that propagates signals from extracellular stimuli to downstream effectors. To investigate the global phosphorylation regulation and uncover novel phosphoproteins at the early stages of cano...