Endocytic Trafficking and Wnt/β-Catenin Signaling

Title: Endocytic Trafficking and Wnt/β-Catenin Signaling

Volume: 12 Issue: 8

Author(s): Oscar Pellon-Cardenas, Jill Schweitzer and Crislyn D'Souza-Schorey

Affiliation:

Keywords: Endocytosis, Wnt, β-catenin, LRP6, cell adhesion, cell signaling, GTPases, transcription factor, endocytic portal, trafficking

Abstract: Several mechanisms function in the endocytic regulation of the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway to promote or interrupt the progression of critical cellular processes during embryonic development or disease progression. Endocytosis was initially associated with the formation of a morphogen gradient of Wnt/β-catenin signaling, but current studies have documented its role in defining signal intensity and propagation. Although the exact parameters that define and dictate the internalization of Wnt receptors and co-receptors via clathrin- or caveolae-mediated endocytosis remain unclear, new studies indicate that the trafficking of the signaling pool of the dual-function protein β-catenin from sites of cell-cell contacts serve as a mechanism to finely tune the outcome of the Wnt/β-catenin signaling. This review discusses the endocytic regulation of Wnt/ β-catenin signaling that occurs at the cell surface as well as within the cell.

Cite this article as:

Pellon-Cardenas Oscar, Schweitzer Jill and D'Souza-Schorey Crislyn, Endocytic Trafficking and Wnt/β-Catenin Signaling, Current Drug Targets 2011; 12 (8) . https://dx.doi.org/10.2174/138945011795906552