INTRODUCTION Wnt signalling has been implicated in stem cell regulation however its role in breast cancer stem cell regulation remains unclear. METHODS We used a panel of normal and breast cancer cell lines to assess Wnt pathway gene and protein expression, and for the investigation of Wnt signalling within stem cell-enriched populations, mRNA and protein expression was analysed after the sel...

Key signalling pathways, such as canonical Wnt/β-catenin signalling, operate repeatedly to regulate tissue- and stage-specific transcriptional responses during development. Although recruitment of nuclear β-catenin to target genomic loci serves as the hallmark of canonical Wnt signalling, mechanisms controlling stage- or tissue-specific transcriptional responses remain elusive. Here, a direct c...

Wnt inhibitory factor 1 (Wif-1) is a secreted antagonist of Wnt signalling. We recently demonstrated that this molecule is expressed predominantly in superficial layers of epiphyseal cartilage but also in bone and tendon. Moreover, we showed that Wif-1 is capable of binding to several cartilage-related Wnt ligands and interferes with Wnt3a-dependent Wnt signalling in chondrogenic cells. Here we...

Background: Wnt molecules play a key role in growth, proliferation and development of some embryonic and adult organs as well as hematopoietic stem cells. Wnt signaling pathways are aberrantly activated in many tumor types, including solid tumors and hematologic malignancies. Objective: To investigate the expression profile of a large number of Wnt genes in leukemic cells from Iranian patients ...

Background: Natural medicines have been recently considered more reasonable for human use most notably due to their safety and tolerance. HESA-A is a marine-originated herbal medicine with a variety of healing effects. However, its exact biological mechanism is not clear. The pre-sent study aimed at the evaluation of the HESA-A antioxidant effect. Methods: Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) an...

Wnt genes encode secreted signalling molecules involved in a number of basic developmental processes. In Drosophila, wingless and DWnt-4 are two physically clustered Wnt genes, which are transcribed in overlapping patterns during embryogenesis and, in several instances, are controlled by the same regulatory molecules. To address the question of the functional relationship of wingless and DWnt-4...

The Wnt/β-catenin signalling pathway shares a key component, β-catenin, with the cadherin-based adhesion system. The signalling function of β-catenin is conferred by a soluble cytoplasmic pool that is unstable in the absence of a Wnt signal, whilst the adhesion function is based on a cadherin-bound, stable pool at the membrane. The cadherin complex is dynamic, allowing for cell-cell rearrangeme...

Wnt signalling is a critically important signalling pathway regulating embryogenesis and differentiation, and is broadly conserved amongst multicellular animals. In addition, dysregulation of Wnt signalling contributes to the pathogenesis of many human cancers, in particular colorectal cancer. Core members of the Wnt signalling pathway are quite well defined, although it has become apparent tha...