Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 2, 2026

11:14
Modeling Paracrine Noncanonical Wnt Signaling In Vitro
Published on: December 10, 2021
Wnt5a: its signalling, functions and implication in diseases
A Kikuchi1, H Yamamoto, A Sato
1Department of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry, Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka University, Suita, Japan. akikuchi@molbiobc.med.osaka-u.ac.jp
Acta Physiologica (Oxford, England)
|April 27, 2011
Summary
Wnt5a signaling regulates diverse cellular functions and embryonic development. Dysregulation of Wnt5a is implicated in diseases, making it a potential therapeutic target.
Area of Science:
- Molecular Biology
- Developmental Biology
- Cell Biology
Background:
- Wnt5a is a key ligand activating beta-catenin-independent signaling pathways.
- These pathways regulate crucial cellular processes including proliferation, differentiation, migration, adhesion, and polarity.
- Wnt5a signaling is vital for embryonic development, as evidenced by phenotypes in Wnt5a knockout mice.
Purpose of the Study:
- To highlight the multifaceted roles of Wnt5a signaling in cellular functions and development.
- To underscore the involvement of Wnt5a signaling abnormalities in various postnatal diseases.
- To emphasize Wnt5a as a potential diagnostic and therapeutic target for human diseases.
Main Methods:
- Review of existing literature on Wnt5a signaling.
- Analysis of Wnt5a knockout mouse phenotypes.
- Examination of Wnt5a's role in developmental processes and disease pathology.
Main Results:
- Wnt5a controls diverse cellular functions through multiple signaling cascades.
- Wnt5a is essential for establishing embryonic axes in developing tissues.
- Postnatal abnormalities in Wnt5a signaling are linked to cancer, inflammatory, and metabolic disorders.
Conclusions:
- Wnt5a signaling plays critical roles in both embryonic development and postnatal health.
- Aberrant Wnt5a signaling contributes to the pathogenesis of various human diseases.
- Targeting Wnt5a pathways offers potential for novel diagnostic and therapeutic strategies.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
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...
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 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 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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
