Frontiers in Bioscience-Landmark (FBL) is published by IMR Press from Volume 26 Issue 5 (2021). Previous articles were published by another publisher on a subscription basis, and they are hosted by IMR Press on imrpress.com as a courtesy and upon agreement with Frontiers in Bioscience.
Molecular strategies for modulating wnt signaling
The importance of the Wnt signaling cascade in the fields of developmental biology, regenerative medicine, cancer genetics, and neurobiology has fueled a wide search for potent pharmacological agents capable of controlling Wnt signaling. Numerous fields of study have lent assistance to this endeavor, yielding both natural and synthetic compounds that are capable of inducing or inhibiting Wnt at multiple stages within the pathway. Further, there is a large of body research which has investigated endogenous Wnt inducers and inhibitors, namely the secreted Wnts, Dickkof proteins (Dkks), secreted Frizzled-Related Proteins (sFRPs), and Wnt Inhibitory Factor-1 (WIF-1), along with others which may act via indirect means to stimulate or inhibit Wnt (e.g. the Smads, bone morphogenetic proteins, and Hedgehog proteins). This review will summarize the research surrounding currently available small molecules used to target Wnt signaling. These compounds will be classified based upon their ability to stimulate or inhibit Wnt, their derivation (natural or synthetic), and their specific mechanism of action.