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The Wnt/[beta]-catenin signaling pathway is a key regulator of cell fate specification, differentiation, and growth in multiple systems throughout the animal kingdom. In vertebrate posterior neural development, Wnt/[beta]-catenin signaling controls this complex multistep process. It initially induces the posterior regions of the nervous system, including the mid-hindbrain border, hindbrain, spinal cord and neural crest, and then subsequently fine-tunes the pattern of each region and determines the different cell fates within them. In this review, we explore the function of the Wnt/[beta]-catenin pathway during the formation of these specific posterior neural regions. We have examined the important transcriptional targets of the Wnt/[beta]-catenin pathway acting downstream to mediate its morphogenetic activity. Different regulatory networks are activated in different posterior neural regions, and these networks induce specific neural cell types in each region. Eludidating how each of these networks specify different cell fates is crucial for understanding the basic tenets of how Wnt morphogenetic activity induces the posterior nervous system during the earliest stages of vertebrate development.

Evolution. --- Morphogenesis. --- Neural development. --- Chordata --- Armadillo Domain Proteins --- Intercellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins --- Catenins --- Anatomy --- Transcription Factors --- Cytoskeletal Proteins --- Proteins --- Biological Factors --- Animals --- Peptides --- Chemicals and Drugs --- Eukaryota --- Amino Acids, Peptides, and Proteins --- Organisms --- Vertebrates --- beta Catenin --- Wnt Proteins --- Nervous System --- Human Anatomy & Physiology --- Health & Biological Sciences --- Neuroscience --- Cranial fossa, Posterior --- Wnt proteins. --- Growth. --- Wnt genes. --- Developmental neurobiology. --- Wnt Proteins. --- Neurogenesis. --- Cell Differentiation. --- Wnt/[beta]-catenin signaling --- vertebrate development --- neural patterning --- neural caudalization --- posterior neural cell fate specification --- neural induction

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The Wnt pathway is an evolutionarily conserved signaling network that is critical for mammalian development and adult tissue maintenance, and, importantly, hyperactivated in most human cancers. Almost two decades of study has confirmed that Wnt signaling is necessary and sufficient for cancer pathogenesis in multiple in vitro and in vivo models systems, suggesting that the pathway represents an attractive therapeutic target.  Recent efforts have focused on innovative strategies to antagonize Wnt signaling at various levels of the pathway – from attenuating the extracellular signaling through the Wnt receptors to modulating the catenin destruction complex to blocking catenin-mediated transcription. Many of these approaches have been largely successful in preclinical validation studies and have been met with considerable enthusiasm to move forward into clinical trials. In this book, we highlight the recent advances in our understanding of the complexity of the Wnt pathway, particularly its intricate regulation and cross-talk with other key signal transduction pathways in normal and tumor cells. As a way to comprehend the role of Wnt pathway activation in tumor initiation and progression, we discuss the importance of Wnt signaling in embryonic and tissue development and stem cell maintenance and self-renewal. The evidence for aberrant Wnt pathway activation in human solid and hematopoietic cancers, as well as a few of the genetic mouse models that mimic the Wnt pathway deregulation observed in some of these tumor types, is reviewed. Lastly, we summarize the current status of the development of Wnt pathway inhibitors, their efficacy in preclinical models and their potential as therapeutic agents for cancer. It is an exciting time in the Wnt signaling field – one that represents a key crossroad between dissecting the molecular details of the pathway and translating that work into promising targeted tumor therapies – that is likely to profoundly impact this research area for years to come.

Cancer -- Genetic aspects. --- Neoplasms -- genetics. --- Neoplasms -- therapy. --- Signal Transduction. --- Targeted Gene Repair -- methods. --- Wnt genes. --- Intercellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins --- Cell Physiological Processes --- Biology --- Biochemical Processes --- Gene Therapy --- Investigative Techniques --- Mutagenesis, Site-Directed --- Diseases --- Proteins --- Cell Physiological Phenomena --- Analytical, Diagnostic and Therapeutic Techniques and Equipment --- Chemical Processes --- Genetic Engineering --- Protein Engineering --- Biological Therapy --- Biochemical Phenomena --- Biological Factors --- Peptides --- Biological Science Disciplines --- Chemical Phenomena --- Therapeutics --- Amino Acids, Peptides, and Proteins --- Phenomena and Processes --- Chemicals and Drugs --- Natural Science Disciplines --- Genetic Techniques --- Disciplines and Occupations --- Wnt Proteins --- Neoplasms --- Signal Transduction --- Genetics --- Targeted Gene Repair --- Methods --- Medicine --- Health & Biological Sciences --- Oncology --- Cellular signal transduction. --- Wnt proteins. --- Cancer. --- Cancers --- Carcinoma --- Malignancy (Cancer) --- Malignant tumors --- Cellular information transduction --- Information transduction, Cellular --- Signal transduction, Cellular --- Medicine. --- Cancer research. --- Pharmacology. --- Oncology. --- Medicine & Public Health. --- Pharmacology/Toxicology. --- Cancer Research. --- Tumors --- Glycoproteins --- Growth factors --- Bioenergetics --- Cellular control mechanisms --- Information theory in biology --- Oncology  . --- Toxicology. --- Chemicals --- Pharmacology --- Poisoning --- Poisons --- Toxicology --- Wnt pathway. --- Pathway, Wnt --- Signal transduction pathway, Wnt --- Signaling pathway, Wnt --- Wnt signal transduction pathway --- Wnt signaling pathway --- Cellular signal transduction --- Cancer research --- Drug effects --- Medical pharmacology --- Medical sciences --- Chemotherapy --- Drugs --- Pharmacy --- Physiological effect