Systemic effects of Wnt signaling

Wnt signaling plays a key role in several physiological and pathological aspects. Even if Wnt signal was first described more than 20 years ago, its role in systemic effects, such as angiogenesis and vascular disorders, bone biology, autoimmune diseases, neurological diseases, and neoplastic disorders, was only recently emerged through the use of animal and in vitro models. Moreover, Wnt signaling inhibitors, such as DKK-1, may be advantageously considered targets for the treatment of several diseases, including osteoporosis, vascular diseases, inflammatory diseases, neurological diseases, and cancer. Nevertheless, further studies are required to provide a complete understanding of this complex signaling pathway, and especially of its role in human diseases, considering the possible advantageous effects of Wnt signaling inhibitors on the progression of disease conditions. J. Cell. Physiol. 228: 14281432, 2013. (c) 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.