WNT Signaling

The Wnt signaling pathway is a conserved pathway in animals, that directs cell proliferation, cell polarity and cell fate determination during embryonic development and tissue homeostasis. The extracellular Wnt signal stimulates several intra-cellular signal transduction cascades. The three best-characterized WNT pathways are shown: the canonical or Wnt/Beta-catenin dependent pathway and the non-canonical or Beta-catenin-independent pathway, that can be divided into the Planar Cell Polarity pathway, which is prominently involved in the regulation of cell polarity, cell motility and morphogenetic movements; and the Wnt/Ca2+ pathway, which regulates the transcription of genes controlling cell fate and cell migration.