Wnt family member protein (Wnt)

Wnt proteins (Wingless-type MMTV integration site family member proteins) form a conserved family of secreted glycoproteins that act as essential signaling molecules in metazoan biology. They regulate crucial processes such as embryonic patterning, cell fate determination, proliferation, and stem cell maintenance. Wnt ligands bind at the cell surface to Frizzled family receptors and co-receptors, initiating complex intracellular pathways that control gene expression—most notably via the canonical Wnt/β-catenin pathway and several non-canonical pathways. Dysregulation of Wnt signaling is causally implicated in developmental disorders and is a major driver of cancers, especially colorectal cancer. Therapeutic targeting of the Wnt pathway is under active investigation, mainly via indirect means due to the challenging nature of directly targeting secreted Wnt ligands.

Other names

Wnt proteinWingless protein (Drosophila homolog, "wg")INT protein (historical name from "Int-1")

Inhibition of Wnt ligand secretion (Porcupine inhibitors); antagonism of Wnt–Frizzled binding (receptor blockers); inhibition of downstream β-catenin–mediated transcription (various small molecules and biologics).