Description
Wnt-5a is one of the most highly investigated non-canonical Wnt proteins and has been implicated in almost all aspects of non-canonical Wnt signaling. Wnt-5a has been well-documented in its ability to antagonize canonical Wnt/ β-catenin signaling, either by promoting the degradation of β-catenin or by down-regulating β-catenin-induced reporter gene expression 3. Wnt-5a has complex roles and is implicated in various types of cancer. It acts as a tumor suppressor for mammary, B cell, colon, and uroepithelial cancer cells, but is up-regulated in melanomas, where expression levels correlate with severity of metastasis. Emerging evidence suggests that the different functions of Wnt-5a depend on the availability of key receptors. Mouse Wnt-5a shows 98% amino acid identity to human Wnt-5a