title: Can Wnt5a and Wnt non-canonical pathways really mediate adipocyte de-differentiation in a tumour microenvironment?
abstract: Wnt5a has been recently reported as a possible triggering factor of adipocyte de-differentiation into an adipocyte-derived fibroblast in the tumour microenvironment of pancreas cancer. The Wnt/β-catenin pathway was described in processes involving de-differentiation and epithelial-mesenchymal transition but some Wnt family-belonging molecules exert an adipogenic role on adipocyte, while other ones, such as Wnt10b or Wnt3a, an anti-adipogenic role. Although this ability depends on the different tumoural microenvironments, it is intriguing to ascertain if some Wnt molecules, participating in the non-canonical pathway, may be targeted as fundamental factors able to trigger the desmoplastic reaction of peritumoural white adipose tissue.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, University of Verona, Italy. Electronic address: salvatore.chirumbolo@univr.it.
authors.forename: Salvatore
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Chirumbolo
authors.affiliation: Council for Nutritional and Environmental Medicine, Mo i Rana, Norway.
authors.forename: Geir
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Bjørklund
mesh_terms: D017667:Adipocytes / Q000166:cytology / Q000502:physiology*; D050156:Adipogenesis / Q000502:physiology; D054337:Cell Dedifferentiation / Q000502:physiology*; D058750:Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition; D006801:Humans; D010190:Pancreatic Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism / Q000503:physiopathology; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000502:physiology; D059016:Tumor Microenvironment / Q000502:physiology*; D060449:Wnt Signaling Pathway / Q000502:physiology*; D000071818:Wnt-5a Protein / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: C085389:WNT5A protein, human; D000071818:Wnt-5a Protein
keywords: Adipocyte; Beta-catenin pathway; Cancer; De-dedifferentiation; Pancreas; Wnt5a