» Articles » PMID: 16012046

The Wnt Signaling Pathway in Retinal Degenerations

Overview
Journal IUBMB Life
Date 2005 Jul 14
PMID 16012046
Citations 23
Authors
Affiliations
Soon will be listed here.
Abstract

The retina is a complex tissue composed of multiple interconnected cell layers, highly specialized for transforming light and color into electrical signals perceived by the brain. Damage or death of the primary light-sensing cells, the photoreceptors, results in devastating effects on vision. Despite the identification of numerous mutations that cause inherited retinal degenerations, the cellular and molecular mechanisms leading from the primary mutations to photoreceptor apoptosis are not understood. Wnt signaling has essential regulatory functions in a wide variety of critical developmental processes. Our research and others' have suggested that the Wnt pathway may be involved in retinal degeneration. Wnt ligands regulate developmental death of Drosophila photoreceptors, dysregulated Wnt signaling is involved in neuronal degeneration elsewhere in the central nervous system and Wnts control the expression of pro-survival growth factors in mammalian tissues. Additionally, altered expression of Wnt pathway genes, including the anti-apoptotic Wnt signaling regulator Dickkopf 3 (Dkk3), were observed during photoreceptor loss. This review examines the evidence and develops a model proposing a pro-survival role for Wnt signaling during photoreceptor injury. Because manipulating Wnt signaling has been demonstrated to have therapeutic potential for the treatment of Alzheimers disease, understanding the involvement of Wnts in photoreceptor death will determine whether targeting the Wnt pathway should also be considered as a possible therapeutic strategy for retinal degenerations.

Citing Articles

Evaluating the Evidence for Neuroprotective and Axonal Regenerative Activities of Different Inflammatory Cell Types After Optic Nerve Injury.

Venanzi A, McGee L, Hackam A Mol Neurobiol. 2024; .

PMID: 39738875 DOI: 10.1007/s12035-024-04679-3.


Repurposing development genes for axonal regeneration following injury: Examining the roles of Wnt signaling.

Albano G, Hackam A Front Cell Dev Biol. 2024; 12:1417928.

PMID: 38882059 PMC: 11176474. DOI: 10.3389/fcell.2024.1417928.


Novel ancestry-specific primary open-angle glaucoma loci and shared biology with vascular mechanisms and cell proliferation.

Lo Faro V, Bhattacharya A, Zhou W, Zhou D, Wang Y, Lall K Cell Rep Med. 2024; 5(2):101430.

PMID: 38382466 PMC: 10897632. DOI: 10.1016/j.xcrm.2024.101430.


Novel mutation for SCA40 with initial presentation as retinitis pigmentosa.

Perkovic R, Hrvoic L, Mandic I, Soldo Koruga A, Butkovic Soldo S Acta Neurol Belg. 2022; 123(5):2027-2029.

PMID: 36103085 DOI: 10.1007/s13760-022-02094-w.


Genome-wide CNV investigation suggests a role for cadherin, Wnt, and p53 pathways in primary open-angle glaucoma.

Lo Faro V, Ten Brink J, Snieder H, Jansonius N, Bergen A BMC Genomics. 2021; 22(1):590.

PMID: 34348663 PMC: 8336345. DOI: 10.1186/s12864-021-07846-1.