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Wnt domain found in protein Wnt-6 and similar proteins Wnt-6 may function as a signaling molecule which affects the development of discrete regions of tissues. It may promote tumorigenesis in gastrointestinal cancer and cervical cancer. It can compensate for the absence of ectoderm and can induce the formation of muscle cells in the limb. Wnt genes have been identified in vertebrates and invertebrates, but not in plants, unicellular eukaryotes, or prokaryotes. In humans, 19 WNT proteins are known. Because of their insolubility little is known about Wnt protein structure, but all have 23 or 24 Cys residues whose spacing is highly conserved. Signal transduction by Wnt proteins (including the Wnt/beta-catenin, the Wnt/Ca++, and the Wnt/polarity pathway) is mediated by receptors of the Frizzled and LDL-receptor-related protein (LRP) families. The Wnt signaling mediated by Wnt proteins that orchestrate and influence a myriad of cellular processes, such as cell proliferation, differentiation, tumorigenesis, apoptosis, and participation in immune defense during microbe infection.
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