EditorialInflammation and destruction of the joints – The Wnt pathway
Section snippets
The Wnt pathway
The Wnt family of glycoproteins is a major signaling pathway involved in cellular differentiation. Wnt proteins act on target cells by binding to the frizzled (Fz) or low-density lipoprotein (LDL) receptor-related protein (LRP) complex at the cell surface. The binding signal is transduced to intercellular proteins including dishelved (Dsh), glycogen synthase kinase-3 (GSK-3), axin, adenomatous polyposis coli (APC), and β-catenin, which functions as transcriptional regulator. When Wnt is not
Involvement of Wnt signaling in inflammatory bone destruction
In rheumatoid arthritis (RA), the cytokine tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) is a key molecule driving the disease. This cytokine, which is mainly produced by macrophages, fibroblasts and dendritic cells in the synovial pannus tissue, is responsible for increased production of bone-resorbing osteoclasts and inhibition of bone-forming osteoblasts resulting in subchondral bone destruction. As bone formation is obviously impaired in rheumatoid arthritis, we thought TNF might be responsible for
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