Description
Wnts are lipid-modified morphogens that control many processes during development, stem cell maintenance and homeostasis and their aberrant regulation has been linked to diseases in man including diabetes, neurodegeneration and cancer. Three distinct receptor families mediate Wnt signaling: Fzs, the single-pass LRP5/6 co-receptors and the atypical tyrosine kinase receptors Ror2 and Ryk. Frizzled proteins can activate canonical Wnt/beta-catenin signaling as well as non-canonical pathways (Wnt/Ca2+ pathways and planar cell polarity). The cysteine-rich domain (CRD) of the frizzled receptors situated on the extracellular part of the receptor is sufficient to bind the Wnt ligands