Wang Hsien-Yu, Malbon Craig C
Department of Physiology and Biophysics, Health Sciences Center, State University of New York at Stony Brook, Stony Brook, NY 11794-8661, USA.
Science. 2003 Jun 6;300(5625):1529-30. doi: 10.1126/science.1085259.
Wnts control the specification of cell fate, cell adhesion, migration, polarity, and proliferation. Their roles in development have been probed in fruit flies, nematodes, zebrafish, frogs, and mice. Some Wnts inhibit the degradation of beta-catenin, which can regulate transcription of specific genes. Other Wnts exert their influences in other ways, such as increasing intracellular concentrations of Ca2+ and decreasing intracellular concentrations of cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP). Heterotrimeric guanine nucleotide-binding proteins (G proteins) and RGS proteins have been implicated in Wnt signaling. Wnt regulation of intracellular Ca2+ and cGMP levels requires the G protein transducin and a cGMP-specific phosphodiesterase, which are major elements in signaling of the visual pathway.
Wnt蛋白控制细胞命运的决定、细胞黏附、迁移、极性和增殖。它们在发育过程中的作用已在果蝇、线虫、斑马鱼、青蛙和小鼠中得到研究。一些Wnt蛋白抑制β-连环蛋白的降解，β-连环蛋白可调节特定基因的转录。其他Wnt蛋白则以其他方式发挥作用，例如增加细胞内Ca2+浓度并降低细胞内环磷酸鸟苷（cGMP）浓度。异源三聚体鸟嘌呤核苷酸结合蛋白（G蛋白）和RGS蛋白与Wnt信号传导有关。Wnt蛋白对细胞内Ca2+和cGMP水平的调节需要G蛋白转导素和一种cGMP特异性磷酸二酯酶，它们是视觉通路信号传导的主要元件。
