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Review
. 2021 Aug 2;13(2):27098.
doi: 10.52965/001c.27098. eCollection 2021.

Inhibition versus activation of canonical Wnt-signaling, to promote chondrogenic differentiation of Mesenchymal Stem Cells. A review

Nikitas P Schizas  1 , Christos Zafeiris  1 , Anna-Aikaterini Neri  1 , Panagiotis P Anastasopoulos  2 , Nikolaos A Papaioannou  1 , Ismene A Dontas  1
Affiliations
Review

Inhibition versus activation of canonical Wnt-signaling, to promote chondrogenic differentiation of Mesenchymal Stem Cells. A review

Nikitas P Schizas et al. Orthop Rev (Pavia). .

Abstract

Canonical Wnt signaling regulation is essential for controlling stemness and differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs). However, the mechanism through which canonical Wnt-dependent MSC lineage commitment leads to chondrogenesis is controversial. Some studies hypothesize that inhibition of canonical Wnt signaling induces MSC chondrogenic differentiation, while others support that the pathway should be activated to achieve MSC chondrogenesis. The purpose of the present review is to analyze data from recent studies to elucidate parameters regarding the role of canonical Wnt signaling in MSC chondrogenic differentiation.

Keywords: canonical wnt signaling; chondrogenesis; differentiation; mesenchymal stem cells.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Figures

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Figure 1. In the absence of appropriate Wnt ligands cytosolic β-catenin undergoes degradation by the proteasome.
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Figure 2. When a Wnt ligand binds to a transmembrane Frizzled receptor and its co-receptor LRP5 and LRP6, β-catenin travels to the nucleus, where it forms complexes with TCF/LEF and activates Wnt target gene expression.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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