Wnt signaling and neural stem cells: caught in the Wnt web.
Wnt proteins have now been identified as major physiological regulators of multiple aspects of stem cell biology, from self-renewal and pluripotency to precursor cell competence and terminal differentiation. Neural stem cells are the cellular building blocks of the developing nervous system and provide the basis for continued neurogenesis in the adult mammalian central nervous system. Here, we outline the most recent advances in the field about the critical factors and regulatory networks involved in Wnt signaling and discuss recent findings on how this increasingly intricate pathway contributes to the shaping of the developing and adult nervous system on the level of the neural stem cell.
Michaelidis
Theologos M
TM
GSF-National Research Center for Environment and Health, Institute of Developmental Genetics, Ingolstädter Landstrasse 1, 85764, Munich-Neuherberg, Germany.
Lie
D Chichung
DC
D000818:Animals; D019521:Body Patterning; D006801:Humans; D009415:Nerve Net / Q000378:metabolism; D009474:Neurons / Q000166:cytology* / Q000378:metabolism; D015398:Signal Transduction; D013234:Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism*; D051153:Wnt Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*