title: The WNT/calcium pathway: biochemical mediators, tools and future requirements.
abstract: Wnt proteins represent a family of secreted, lipid-modified glycoproteins that can activate different intracellular pathways. Upon binding to certain members of the Frizzled family of Wnt receptors some Wnts like Wnt-4, Wnt-5A or Wnt-11 are able to elicit an intracellular release of calcium ions. This calcium signaling acitivity is sufficient to activate calcium sensitive enzymes like protein kinase C (PKC), calcium-calmodulin dependent kinase II (CamKII) or calcineurin (CaCN). This so-called Wnt/calcium pathway plays important roles during dorso-ventral patterning of the embryo, regulating cell migration, as well as heart development, and might play a role during tumor suppression. The foci of this review are the biochemical aspects of Wnt/calcium signaling, the tools that are available to study Wnt/calcium signaling, and the open questions that need to be addressed in the future to validate this signaling pathway.
authors.affiliation: Abt. Biochemie, Universitat Ulm, Albert-Einstein-Allee 11, D-89081 Ulm, Germany. michael.kuehl@medizin.uni-ulm.de
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kühl
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D019703:Calcineurin / Q000378:metabolism*; D002118:Calcium / Q000378:metabolism; D054732:Calcium-Calmodulin-Dependent Protein Kinase Type 2; D017871:Calcium-Calmodulin-Dependent Protein Kinases / Q000378:metabolism*; D002154:Calpain / Q000378:metabolism*; D005544:Forecasting; D006801:Humans; D011493:Protein Kinase C / Q000378:metabolism*; D011518:Proto-Oncogene Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D015398:Signal Transduction; D051153:Wnt Proteins; D029961:Zebrafish Proteins
chemical_list: D011518:Proto-Oncogene Proteins; D051153:Wnt Proteins; D029961:Zebrafish Proteins; D011493:Protein Kinase C; D054732:Calcium-Calmodulin-Dependent Protein Kinase Type 2; D017871:Calcium-Calmodulin-Dependent Protein Kinases; D019703:Calcineurin; D002154:Calpain; D002118:Calcium