When does Wnt5a turn β-catenin signaling on or off?
Purified Wnt5a can activate or inhibit β-catenin–TCF signaling depending on which Frizzled/receptor context is present.
Source
Purified Wnt5a protein activates or inhibits beta-catenin-TCF signaling depending on receptor context
Study at a glance
- Design
- Animal / in-vitro — Purified Wnt5a across receptor contexts testing canonical vs inhibitory outputs
- N
- Receptor-context cell signaling assays — no single sample N
- Population
- Cells expressing Wnt receptors and responding to purified Wnt5a
- Outcome
- Context-dependent activation or inhibition of β-catenin–TCF signaling by Wnt5a
Structured fields used in claim comparison tables when every cited study has a complete layer.
Inspect source passages
When does Wnt5a turn β-catenin signaling on or off?
These passages occur verbatim in the stored paper text. They support the points listed below; they do not verify every statement in the explanation.
What pathway can Wnt5a activate or inhibit?
Activates or Inhibits β-Catenin–TCF Signaling Depending on Receptor Context Receptor Context Dictates Wnt5a Signaling Mikels Amanda J Nusse Roel rnusse@stanford.
Why do Wnt controversies arise?
attributed to the variety of cellular and organismal systems studied coupled with the previous lack of soluble, active Wnt proteins.
What they did
Used purified Wnt5a protein across receptor contexts to resolve whether Wnt5a is intrinsically canonical or noncanonical.
What they found
Receptor expression dictates output: with appropriate Fz receptors, Wnt5a can signal canonically; otherwise it can inhibit β-catenin–TCF pathways—context explains prior controversies.
The limits
What it doesn't show
One purified ligand study does not map every tissue’s endogenous receptor set.
Key terms
- Wnt5a
- Wnt family ligand historically labeled noncanonical.
- β-catenin–TCF signaling
- Canonical Wnt transcriptional pathway.
- Frizzled (Fz)
- Wnt receptor family guiding pathway choice.
- Receptor context
- Which receptors/coreceptors a cell expresses.
- Canonical vs noncanonical Wnt
- β-catenin-dependent vs alternative Wnt outputs.
Flashcards
0 of 10 answers reviewed
Research intelligence for this paper
See its role on concept claims, tensions it is part of, placement history, and related discoveries.
Quiz yourself
Wnt5a output depends on:
Common questions
Is Wnt5a only noncanonical?
No—output depends on receptor context.
What can Wnt5a do to β-catenin–TCF signaling?
Activate or inhibit it.
Key receptor class?
Frizzled receptors.
Why prior conflicts?
Different cellular systems/overexpression contexts.
More on Cell signalling