Wnt Proteins

Wnt proteins are a large family of secreted glycoproteins that play essential roles in EMBRYONIC AND FETAL DEVELOPMENT, and tissue maintenance. They bind to FRIZZLED RECEPTORS and act as PARACRINE PROTEIN FACTORS to initiate a variety of SIGNAL TRANSDUCTION PATHWAYS. The canonical Wnt signaling pathway stabilizes the transcriptional coactivator BETA CATENIN.