The Hedgehog (Hh) and Wnt signaling pathways are crucial for development as well as for adult stem cell maintenance in all organisms from Drosophila to humans. Aberrant activation of these pathways has been implicated in many types of human cancer. During evolution, organisms have developed numerous ways to fine-tune Wnt and Hh signaling. One way is through extracellular modulators that directl...

The aim of the present study is to explore the differential expression of key molecules associated with Wnt signaling in both clinical non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) tissue and adjacent normal lung tissue, and to discuss the tumorigenic role of the activation of Wnt signaling pathways in NSCLC. A total of 52 NSCLC patients were employed in the present study. Lung cancer tissue samples and p...

Pitx2 is a bicoid-related homeodomain factor that is required for effective cell type-specific proliferation directly activating a specific growth-regulating gene cyclin D2. Here, we report that Pitx2, in response to the Wntbeta-catenin pathway and growth signals, also can regulate c-Myc and cyclin D1. Investigation of molecular mechanisms required for Pitx2-dependent proliferation, in these ca...

BACKGROUND Valve calcification and inflammation play key roles in the development of aortic stenosis (AS). The Wnt pathways have been linked to inflammation, bone metabolism, angiogenesis, and heart valve formation. We hypothesized that soluble Wnt modulators may be dysregulated in symptomatic AS. METHODS AND RESULTS We measured circulating levels (n=136) and aortic valve tissue expression (n...

BACKGROUND The role of Wnt signalling in carcinogenesis suggests compounds targeting this pathway as potential anti-cancer drugs. Several studies report activation of Wnt signalling in biliary tract cancer (BTC) thus rendering Wnt inhibitory drugs as potential candidates for targeted therapy of this highly chemoresistant disease. METHODS In this study we analysed five compounds with suggested...

Wool length is an important trait in the rabbit wool industry. Wnt inhibitory factor 1 (WIF1), a key gene, regulates hair follicle growth and development. This study explores WIF1 gene relationship with production traits three different breeds, Rex rabbit, New Zealand Angora rabbit. The sequence was obtained from GenBank, PCR Sanger sequencing were applied to screen SNP (single nucleotide polym...

Background and objective Dysregulated Wnt signalling has been implicated in pulmonary hypertension (PH). We hypothesized that plasma levels of secreted proteins would be increased patients with precapillary PH, correlate indices vascular resistance cardiac function give information on long-term prognosis. Methods measured the ligand Wnt5a antagonists Dickkopf (DKK) DKK1, DKK3, frizzled-related ...