title: The emerging role of exosomes in Wnt secretion and transport.
abstract: Exosomes are small extracellular microvesicles that have an endosomal origin and are gaining increasing recognition for their important roles in mediating cell-cell communication. The content of exosomes includes a broad range of bioactive molecules, such as miRNA and signaling molecules that can mediate intercellular communication in various functional contexts. Recent studies have pointed to a critical role of exosomes in transmitting morphogen signaling during embryonic development and cancer progression. In this review we focus on recent progress that has revealed a role for exosomes in the secretion and processing of Wnt proteins, a family of morphogens with fundamental roles in homeostasis and cancer.
authors.affiliation: Center for Systems Biology, Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute, Mount Sinai Hospital, Toronto, ON M5G 1X5, Canada.
authors.forename: Liang
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Center for Systems Biology, Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute, Mount Sinai Hospital, Toronto, ON M5G 1X5, Canada; Department of Molecular Genetics, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5S 1A8, Canada. Electronic address: wrana@lunenfeld.ca.
authors.forename: Jeffrey L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Wrana
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D055354:Exosomes / Q000378:metabolism*; D006706:Homeostasis; D006801:Humans; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism; D021381:Protein Transport; D015398:Signal Transduction; D051153:Wnt Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D051153:Wnt Proteins