Pathophysiological Significance of WDR62 and JNK Signaling in Human Diseases

Yiqiang Zhi; Xiaokun Zhou; Jurui Yu; Ling Yuan; Hongsheng Zhang; Dominic C H Ng; Zhiheng Xu; Dan Xu

doi:10.3389/fcell.2021.640753

Pathophysiological Significance of WDR62 and JNK Signaling in Human Diseases

Front Cell Dev Biol. 2021 Apr 16:9:640753. doi: 10.3389/fcell.2021.640753. eCollection 2021.

Authors

Yiqiang Zhi¹, Xiaokun Zhou¹, Jurui Yu¹, Ling Yuan², Hongsheng Zhang³, Dominic C H Ng⁴, Zhiheng Xu⁵, Dan Xu⁶

Affiliations

¹ College of Biological Science and Engineering, Institute of Life Sciences, Fuzhou University, Fuzhou, China.
² Center for Medical Genetics, School of Life Sciences, Central South University, Changsha, China.
³ Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Neurodegenerative Disease and Aging Research, Institute of Neuroscience, School of Medicine, Xiamen University, Xiamen, China.
⁴ Faculty of Medicine, School of Biomedical Science, University of Queensland, St. Lucia, QLD, Australia.
⁵ State Key Laboratory of Molecular Developmental Biology, CAS Center for Excellence in Brain Science and Intelligence Technology, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
⁶ Fujian Key Laboratory of Molecular Neurology, Institute of Neuroscience, Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou, China.

Abstract

The c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) is highly evolutionarily conserved and plays important roles in a broad range of physiological and pathological processes. The WD40-repeat protein 62 (WDR62) is a scaffold protein that recruits different components of the JNK signaling pathway to regulate several human diseases including neurological disorders, infertility, and tumorigenesis. Recent studies revealed that WDR62 regulates the process of neural stem cell mitosis and germ cell meiosis through JNK signaling. In this review we summarize the roles of WDR62 and JNK signaling in neuronal and non-neuronal contexts and discuss how JNK-dependent signaling regulates both processes. WDR62 is involved in various human disorders via JNK signaling regulation, and may represent a promising therapeutic strategy for the treatment of related diseases.

Keywords: JNK signaling; WDR62; neurological disorders; reproductive diseases; tumorigenesis.

Publication types

Review