Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 3, 2026

Analysis of Combinatorial miRNA Treatments to Regulate Cell Cycle and Angiogenesis
11:44

Analysis of Combinatorial miRNA Treatments to Regulate Cell Cycle and Angiogenesis

Published on: March 30, 2019

Targeting the wingless signaling pathway with natural compounds as chemopreventive or chemotherapeutic agents

Marie-Hélène Teiten1, François Gaascht, Mario Dicato

  • 1Laboratoire de Biologie Moleculaire et Cellulaire du Cancer, Hopital Kirchberg, L-2540 Luxembourg, Luxembourg.

Current Pharmaceutical Biotechnology
|April 7, 2011
PubMed

Insights

Natural compounds can inhibit the wingless (Wnt) signaling pathway, a key driver of cancer. These compounds offer potential for novel cancer treatment and prevention strategies by targeting Wnt signaling.

Area of Science:

  • Oncology
  • Molecular Biology
  • Pharmacology

Background:

  • Aberrant activation of the wingless (Wnt) signaling pathway is implicated in carcinogenesis.
  • Wnt signaling regulates critical cellular processes like proliferation, differentiation, survival, apoptosis, and motility.
  • Both canonical (Wnt/beta-catenin) and non-canonical (Wnt/planar cell polarity, Wnt/Ca²⁺) pathways are activated upon Wnt receptor engagement.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To explore the potential of natural compounds in modulating Wnt signaling.
  • To investigate the anti-carcinogenic properties of natural compounds targeting Wnt signaling.
  • To identify specific natural molecules that can inhibit Wnt pathway activation.

Main Methods:

  • Review of studies on natural compounds from marine and terrestrial origins.
  • Analysis of compounds that modulate Wnt signaling gene expression.
  • Assessment of anti-carcinogenic effects of identified compounds.

Main Results:

  • Phenolic compounds (e.g., caffeic acid phenethyl ester, curcumin, resveratrol, quercetin, isoflavone, fisetin) and other small molecules were identified.
  • These compounds inhibit Wnt signaling by modulating beta-catenin expression and transcriptional activity.
  • Inhibition of Wnt target gene expression was observed.

Conclusions:

  • Wnt signaling is a promising target for cancer treatment and prevention.
  • Natural compounds demonstrate potential for developing innovative anti-cancer strategies.
  • Targeting Wnt signaling offers a viable approach for counteracting cancer proliferation.

Related Concept Videos

Canonical Wnt Signaling Pathway02:54

Canonical Wnt Signaling Pathway

The gene encoding the main signaling molecules of the Wnt signaling pathways (the Wnt proteins) was discovered almost four decades ago by Nüsslein-Volhard and Wieschaus. They identified and originally named the gene "wingless" (wg) after a phenotype discovered during their landmark genetic screen in Drosophila for body pattern defects. At around the same time, another researcher named Harold Varmus found that a murine tumor virus activates the mammalian wg homolog, Int-1, which results in tumor...
Non-Canonical Wnt Signaling Pathways01:41

Non-Canonical Wnt Signaling Pathways

Wnt is a zygotic effect gene that is expressed during very early embryonic development. It regulates various processes in animals starting from early development through the adult stage, such as organogenesis in the embryo and maintenance of neuronal and blood stem cells. Wnt proteins can induce a wide variety of intracellular pathways depending upon the specific abilities of different Wnt ligands to form a complex with shared and cognate receptors in the presence of different co-receptors. The...
Non-Canonical Wnt Signaling Pathways01:41

Non-Canonical Wnt Signaling Pathways

Wnt is a zygotic effect gene that is expressed during very early embryonic development. It regulates various processes in animals starting from early development through the adult stage, such as organogenesis in the embryo and maintenance of neuronal and blood stem cells. Wnt proteins can induce a wide variety of intracellular pathways depending upon the specific abilities of different Wnt ligands to form a complex with shared and cognate receptors in the presence of different co-receptors. The...
Targeted Cancer Therapies02:57

Targeted Cancer Therapies

The targeted cancer therapies, also known as “molecular targeted therapies,” take advantage of the molecular and genetic differences between the cancer cells and the normal cells. It needs a thorough understanding of the cancer cells to develop drugs that can target specific molecular aspects that drive the growth, progression, and spread of cancer cells without affecting the growth and survival of other normal cells in the body.
There are several types of targeted therapies against specific...
Inhibition of Cdk Activity02:34

Inhibition of Cdk Activity

The orderly progression of the cell cycle depends on the activation of Cdk protein by binding to its cyclin partner. However, the cell cycle must be restricted when undergoing abnormal changes. Most cancers correlate to the deregulated cell cycle, and since Cdks are a central component of the cell cycle, Cdk inhibitors are extensively studied to develop anticancer agents. For instance, cyclin D associates with several Cdks, such as Cdk 4/6, to form an active complex. The cyclin D-Cdk4/6 complex...
Notch Signaling Pathway03:14

Notch Signaling Pathway

The Notch signaling pathway is a major intracellular signaling pathway that is highly conserved over a broad spectrum of metazoan species. It stands unique from other intracellular signaling mechanisms in animals because notch protein itself acts as the receptor as well as the primary signaling molecule.
The Notch gene came into the limelight in 1914 after the discovery that its mutation in Drosophila melanogaster leads to a serrated (or "notched") wing margin phenotype. It was not until 1985...