Becker Juergen, Wilting Joerg
Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, University Medical School Goettingen, Kreuzbergring 36, 37075 Goettingen, Germany.
Cancers (Basel). 2019 Jul 19;11(7):1013. doi: 10.3390/cancers11071013.
The term WNT (wingless-type MMTV integration site family) signaling comprises a complex molecular pathway consisting of ligands, receptors, coreceptors, signal transducers and transcriptional modulators with crucial functions during embryonic development, including all aspects of proliferation, morphogenesis and differentiation. Its involvement in cancer biology is well documented. Even though WNT signaling has been divided into mainly three distinct branches in the past, increasing evidence shows that some molecular hubs can act in various branches by exchanging interaction partners. Here we discuss developmental and clinical aspects of WNT signaling in neuroblastoma (NB), an embryonic tumor with an extremely broad clinical spectrum, ranging from spontaneous differentiation to fatal outcome. We discuss implications of WNT molecules in NB onset, progression, and relapse due to chemoresistance. In the light of the still too high number of NB deaths, new pathways must be considered.
术语WNT（无翅型MMTV整合位点家族）信号传导包括一条复杂的分子途径，该途径由配体、受体、共受体、信号转导子和转录调节因子组成，在胚胎发育过程中具有关键功能，包括增殖、形态发生和分化的各个方面。其在癌症生物学中的作用已有充分记录。尽管过去WNT信号传导主要分为三个不同的分支，但越来越多的证据表明，一些分子枢纽可以通过交换相互作用伙伴在不同分支中发挥作用。在这里，我们讨论神经母细胞瘤（NB）中WNT信号传导的发育和临床方面，NB是一种胚胎性肿瘤，临床谱极广，从自发分化到致命结局。我们讨论了WNT分子在NB发病、进展以及因化疗耐药导致复发中的影响。鉴于NB死亡人数仍然过高，必须考虑新的途径。
