Helping Wingless take flight: how WNT proteins are secreted

Nat Rev Mol Cell Biol. 2007 Apr;8(4):331-6. doi: 10.1038/nrm2141. Epub 2007 Mar 7.

Abstract

How functional WNT proteins are made and how their secretion is regulated is becoming a focal point for the WNT-signalling field. Recently, lipoprotein particles, WNT lipid modifications, the conserved transmembrane protein Wntless (WLS; also known as EVI and SRT) and the retromer complex have been implicated in WNT secretion. Our aim is to synthesize ideas from these new findings for the mechanisms that underlie WNT secretion.

Publication types

  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Endosomes / metabolism
  • Golgi Apparatus / metabolism
  • Humans
  • Lipoproteins / metabolism
  • Membrane Proteins / metabolism
  • Models, Biological
  • Protein Transport
  • Signal Transduction*
  • Wnt Proteins / metabolism*

Substances

  • Lipoproteins
  • Membrane Proteins
  • Wnt Proteins