title: Can we safely target the WNT pathway?
abstract: WNT-β-catenin signalling is involved in a multitude of developmental processes and the maintenance of adult tissue homeostasis by regulating cell proliferation, differentiation, migration, genetic stability and apoptosis, as well as by maintaining adult stem cells in a pluripotent state. Not surprisingly, aberrant regulation of this pathway is therefore associated with a variety of diseases, including cancer, fibrosis and neurodegeneration. Despite this knowledge, therapeutic agents specifically targeting the WNT pathway have only recently entered clinical trials and none has yet been approved. This Review examines the problems and potential solutions to this vexing situation and attempts to bring them into perspective.
authors: USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center, USC Center for Molecular Pathways and Drug Discovery, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California 90033, USA.
authors: Michael
authors: M
authors: Kahn
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000818:Animals; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006801:Humans; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000378:metabolism; D051153:Wnt Proteins / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors*; D060449:Wnt Signaling Pathway / Q000187:drug effects*
chemical_list: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; D051153:Wnt Proteins