Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 23, 2026

Planarian Immobilization, Partial Irradiation, and Tissue Transplantation
Published on: August 6, 2012
Wnt signaling in planarians: new answers to old questions
Maria Almuedo-Castillo1, Miquel Sureda-Gómez, Teresa Adell
1Department of Genetics and Institute of Biomedicine, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain.
Abstract:
Wnts are secreted glycoproteins involved in a broad range of essential cell functions, including proliferation, migration and cell-fate determination. Recent years have seen substantial research effort invested in elucidating the role of the Wnt signaling pathway in planarians, flatworms with incredible regenerative capacities. In this review, we summarize current knowledge on the role of canonical (β-catenin-dependent) and non-canonical (β-catenin-independent) Wnt signaling in planarians, not only during regeneration, but also during normal homeostasis. We also describe some of the preliminary data that has been obtained regarding the role of these pathways during embryogenesis. Models are proposed to integrate the different results which have been obtained to date and highlight those questions that still remain to be answered.
Related Concept Videos
Non-Canonical Wnt Signaling Pathways
Non-Canonical Wnt Signaling Pathways
Canonical Wnt Signaling Pathway
Canonical Wnt Signaling Pathway
Whole Body Regeneration
Role Of Notch Signalling In Intestinal Stem Cell Renewal
Direct cell-to-cell contact is needed for the activation of Notch signaling. The signal is initiated when a notch ligand binds to a receptor on an adjacent cell, also...

