Cancer Management and Research (Aug 2020)
New Advances in Canonical Wnt/β-Catenin Signaling in Cancer
Abstract
Xiaolan Wen,1,2 Yanling Wu,1,2 Annoor Awadasseid,1,3 Yoshimasa Tanaka,4 Wen Zhang1 1Laboratory of Chemical Biology and Molecular Drug Design, College of Pharmaceutical Science, Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou 310014, People’s Republic of China; 2Laboratory of Molecular Immunology, Zhejiang Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Hangzhou 310051, People’s Republic of China; 3Center for Natural Products Research, Chengdu Institute of Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chengdu, 610041, People’s Republic of China; 4Laboratory of Bioinformatics and Molecular Medicine, Center for Medical Innovation, Nagasaki University, Nagasaki, 852-8588, JapanCorrespondence: Yanling WuLaboratory of Molecular Immunology, Zhejiang Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 3399 Binsheng Road, Binjiang District, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310051, People’s Republic of ChinaTel +86 138 6715 2930Email [email protected] ZhangLaboratory of Chemical Biology and Molecular Drug Design, College of Pharmaceutical Science, Zhejiang University of Technology, 18 Chaowang Road, Xiacheng District, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310014, People’s Republic of ChinaTel +86 136 1671 0236Email [email protected]: Wnt/β-catenin-mediated signaling is a key pathway regulating tissue growth and development, and tumorigenesis, and has received increasing attention in recent years. In addition to participating in healthy tissue and organ development, ectopic activation of the pathway can cause a variety of tumors and other pathologies. The pathway plays a critical role in many processes such as proliferation, differentiation, apoptosis, migration, invasion, epithelial–mesenchymal transition and cancer cell stemness. The importance of the Wnt signal is self-evident. This review describes the underlying mechanism of Wnt signaling pathway and highlights the latest findings on the relationship between Wnt signaling pathway and tumorigenesis. In addition, the potential relationship between miRNAs and Wnt signaling is presented. Furthermore, we discuss the intrinsic link between Wnt signaling and cancer cell stemness, which shed light on the malignant progression of tumor cells. Finally, cancer treatment strategies based on the canonical Wnt signaling pathway are summarized, hoping to help clinical development.Keywords: Wnt/β-catenin, tumor, miRNAs, cancer stem cell, target, therapeutic strategy
