<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><p>As musculoskeletal diseases become an emerging healthcare problem worldwide, profound and comprehensive research has been focused on the biochemistry of bone metabolism in the past decades. Wnt signalling, one of the novel described pathways influencing bone metabolism from the early stages of tissue development, has been recently in the centre of attention. Several Wnt ligands are implied in bone forming pathways via canonical (β-catenin dependent) and non-canonical (β-catenin independent) signalling. Osteoporosis, a catabolic bone disease, has its pathologic background related, inter alia, to alterations in the Wnt signalling, thus key modulators of these pathways became one of the most promising targets in the treatment of osteoporosis. Antibodies inhibiting the activity of endogenous Wnt pathway inhibitors (sclerostin, dickkopf) are recently under clinical trials. The current article offers a brief review of the Wnt signalling pathways, its implication in bone metabolism and fate, and the therapeutic possibilities of osteoporosis through Wnt signalling.</p></abstract>

As musculoskeletal diseases become an emerging healthcare problem worldwide, profound and comprehensive research has been focused on the biochemistry of bone metabolism in the past decades. Wnt signalling, one of the novel described pathways influencing bone metabolism from the early stages of tissue development, has been recently in the centre of attention. Several Wnt ligands are implied in bone forming pathways via canonical (β-catenin dependent) and non-canonical (β-catenin independent) signalling. Osteoporosis, a catabolic bone disease, has its pathologic background related, inter alia, to alterations in the Wnt signalling, thus key modulators of these pathways became one of the most promising targets in the treatment of osteoporosis. Antibodies inhibiting the activity of endogenous Wnt pathway inhibitors (sclerostin, dickkopf) are recently under clinical trials. The current article offers a brief review of the Wnt signalling pathways, its implication in bone metabolism and fate, and the therapeutic possibilities of osteoporosis through Wnt signalling.

The Wnt Signalling Pathways: A Short Review and Specific Roles in Bone Biochemistry

University of Medicine and Pharmacy Tîrgu Mureș

Department of Biochemistry and Environmental Chemistry

Acta Marisiensis - Seria Medica

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

As musculoskeletal diseases become an emerging healthcare problem worldwide, profound and comprehensive research has been focused on the biochemistry of bone...

The Wnt Signalling Pathways: A Short Review and Specific Roles in Bone Biochemistry

Published Online: Sep 23, 2017

Page range: 104 - 109

Received: Jun 14, 2017

Accepted: Jul 10, 2017

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/amma-2017-0026

Keywords
Wnt signalling, bone metabolism, osteoporosis, autophagy, antibodies

© 2017 Béla Kovács et al., published by De Gruyter Open

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

The Wnt Signalling Pathways: A Short Review and Specific Roles in Bone Biochemistry

Published Online: Sep 23, 2017

Page range: 104 - 109

Received: Jun 14, 2017

Accepted: Jul 10, 2017

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/amma-2017-0026

KeywordsWnt signalling, bone metabolism, osteoporosis, autophagy, antibodies

© 2017 Béla Kovács et al., published by De Gruyter Open

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Keywords
Wnt signalling, bone metabolism, osteoporosis, autophagy, antibodies