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Updated: Feb 8, 2026

Modeling Paracrine Noncanonical Wnt Signaling In Vitro
Published on: December 10, 2021
Multiple roles of canonical Wnt signaling in cell cycle progression and cell lineage specification in neural
1Institute of Cell Biology, Department of Biology, ETH-Hönggerberg, Zurich, Switzerland. sommer@cell.biol.ethz.ch
Abstract:
Signaling by the canonical Wnt pathway has multiple functions in stem cells. It can either control stem cell expansion or--as we have recently demonstrated with neural crest stem cells-influence cell lineage decisions by promoting specific fates at the expense of others. Thus, the role of canonical Wnt in stem cells is dependent on cell--intrinsic properties that determine how a cell responds to Wnt. The molecular basis for the functional diversity of Wnt in different stem cell types remains to be elucidated.
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