The Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway in liver biology and disease

Abstract

The Wnt signaling pathway is an evolutionarily conserved, highly complex signaling pathway that is critical for development, differentiation and cellular homeostasis. The protein β-catenin is the central player in one major arm of the Wnt pathway called the canonical Wnt pathway. As in other organs, the Wnt/β-catenin pathway is critical for liver development. However, recent research suggests that the pathway is also important in liver regeneration, liver metabolism and maintenance of normal function in the adult liver. Aberrant activation of β-catenin has also been implicated in the pathogenesis of hepatobiliary neoplasia, ranging from benign lesions to liver cancer. The explosion of research into the many roles of the Wnt/β-catenin pathway promises to change our fundamental understanding of normal liver biology and the aberrations that lead to disease and cancer.

Keywords::

• ammonia detoxificaiton
• bile acid homeostasis
• canonical Wnt signaling
• cytochrome P450
• hepatocellular carcinoma
• liver biology
• liver fibrosis
• metabolic zonation
• oxidative stress
• Wnt/β-catenin pathway

Financial & competing interests disclosure

Grant Support was provided by the US National Institutes of Health Grant 1K08AA017622 and The Samuel and Emma Winters Foundation. The author has no other relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript apart from those disclosed.

No writing assistance was utilized in the production of this manuscript.