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Review
. 2016 Aug 26;8(9):78.
doi: 10.3390/cancers8090078.

Aberrant Wnt Signaling in Leukemia

Frank J T Staal  1 , Farbod Famili  2 , Laura Garcia Perez  3 , Karin Pike-Overzet  4
Affiliations
Review

Aberrant Wnt Signaling in Leukemia

Frank J T Staal et al. Cancers (Basel). .

Abstract

The Wnt signaling pathway is essential in the development and homeostasis of blood and immune cells, but its exact role is still controversial and is the subject of intense research. The malignant counterpart of normal hematopoietic cells, leukemic (stem) cells, have hijacked the Wnt pathway for their self-renewal and proliferation. Here we review the multiple ways dysregulated Wnt signaling can contribute to leukemogenesis, both cell autonomously as well as by changes in the microenvironment.

Keywords: ALL; AML; CLL; CML; Wnt signaling; leukemia; leukemic stem cell; pathogenesis.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Normal human hematopoiesis. All blood cells are derived from a rare population of stem cells, which give rise to more lineage restricted progenitor cells that largely lack self-renewal. T-lymphocytes develop in the specialized microenvironment of the thymus. Wnt signaling is highest in the thymus, but also present in HSCs, CMP, CLP, and at low levels in pro B cells. The intensity of the blue color indicates the levels of Wnt signaling in the subpopulations depicted. All mature blood cells lack Wnt signaling, except a significant fraction of peripheral T cells. Data from Wnt signaling levels are derived from [15].
Figure 2
Figure 2
Leukemia development in humans. Leukemias are shown as malignant counterparts from normal hematopoietic cells. The figure is drawn to stress the similarities, not differences. For details on Wnt signaling in the various types of leukemia, see the main text.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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