WNT signaling at the intersection between neurogenesis and brain tumorigenesis

Maisa I Alkailani; Mohamed Aittaleb; Fadel Tissir

doi:10.3389/fnmol.2022.1017568

WNT signaling at the intersection between neurogenesis and brain tumorigenesis

Front Mol Neurosci. 2022 Oct 4:15:1017568. doi: 10.3389/fnmol.2022.1017568. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Maisa I Alkailani¹, Mohamed Aittaleb¹, Fadel Tissir^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ College of Health and Life Sciences, Hamad Bin Khalifa University, Qatar Foundation, Doha, Qatar.
² Institute of Neuroscience, Université catholique de Louvain, Brussels, Belgium.

Abstract

Neurogenesis and tumorigenesis share signaling molecules/pathways involved in cell proliferation, differentiation, migration, and death. Self-renewal of neural stem cells is a tightly regulated process that secures the accuracy of cell division and eliminates cells that undergo mitotic errors. Abnormalities in the molecular mechanisms controlling this process can trigger aneuploidy and genome instability, leading to neoplastic transformation. Mutations that affect cell adhesion, polarity, or migration enhance the invasive potential and favor the progression of tumors. Here, we review recent evidence of the WNT pathway's involvement in both neurogenesis and tumorigenesis and discuss the experimental progress on therapeutic opportunities targeting components of this pathway.

Keywords: WNT/calcium; Wnt/PCP; Wnt/β-catenin; glioblastoma therapy; glioma; neural progenitor cells; neurogenesis.

Publication types

Review