Wnt/Planar cell polarity signaling: a new paradigm for cancer therapy.
The evolutionarily conserved and developmentally important Wnt signaling pathway has traditionally been regarded as a critical player in tumorigenesis through the canonical Wnt/beta-catenin cascade. Nevertheless, accumulating evidence based on recent research has revealed the previously unacknowledged role of noncanonical Wnt/planar cell polarity (PCP) signaling in cancer progression, invasion and metastasis, and angiogenesis. This review describes the PCP signaling pathway and its ever-expanding components and modulators, highlights the most recent studies that provide insight into the link between PCP signaling and cancer, and, finally, proposes a model by which PCP signaling may promote cancer development. This review underscores the emerging theme that deregulated PCP signaling contributes to tumorigenesis, providing new potential targets for cancer therapy.
Wang
Yingqun
Y
Abramson Family Cancer Research Institute, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA. yingqunw@mail.med.upenn.edu
D000818:Animals; D016764:Cell Polarity; D006801:Humans; D008954:Models, Biological; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy*; D015398:Signal Transduction; D051153:Wnt Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*
D051153:Wnt Proteins