The role of WNT/β-catenin pathway in cancer and autism
Furkan Candar1, Oytun Erbaş1,2
1Institute of Experimental Medicine, Gebze-Kocaeli, Turkey
2Department of Physiology, Medical Faculty of Demiroğlu Bilim University, Istanbul, Turkey
Keywords: Autism, cancer, Rett syndrome, tumor, WNT/β‐catenin
Abstract
The WNT family is a group of signaling molecules that have been shown to control various developmental processes, including cell specification, proliferation, polarity, and cell migration. Dysregulation of WNT signaling plays a role in developmental defects and tumor formation. The importance of WNT signaling in development and clinical pathologies has been emphasized by studies examining various aspects of WNT signaling. There is data suggesting that WNT signaling hyperactivation leads to the pathogenesis of autism spectrum disorder. In this review, the molecular mechanism of WNT/β‐catenin signal transduction as well as the relationship of WNT/β‐catenin signaling dysregulation with tumor formation and autism are discussed.
The authors declared no conflicts of interest with respect to the authorship and/or publication of this article.
The authors received no financial support for the research and/or authorship of this article.