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Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is one of the major chronic diseases, whose prevalence is increasing dramatically worldwide and can lead to a range of serious complications. Wnt ligands (Wnts) and their activating Wnt signalling pathways are closely involved in the regulation of various processes that are important for the occurrence and progression of T2DM and related complications. However, our understanding of their roles in these diseases is quite rudimentary due to the numerous family members of Wnts and conflicting effects via activating the canonical and/or non‐canonical Wnt signalling pathways. In this review, we summarize the current findings on the expression pattern and exact role of each human Wnt in T2DM and related complications, including Wnt1, Wnt2, Wnt2b, Wnt3, Wnt3a, Wnt4, Wnt5a, Wnt5b, Wnt6, Wnt7a, Wnt7b, Wnt8a, Wnt8b, Wnt9a, Wnt9b, Wnt10a, Wnt10b, Wnt11 and Wnt16. Moreover, the role of main antagonists (sFRPs and WIF‐1) and coreceptor (LRP6) of Wnts in T2DM and related complications and main challenges in designing Wnt‐based therapeutic approaches for these diseases are discussed. We hope a deep understanding of the mechanistic links between Wnt signalling pathways and diabetic‐related diseases will ultimately result in a better management of these diseases.

Canonical Wnt signalling plays an important role in development, tissue homeostasis, and cancer. At the cellular level, canonical Wnt signalling acts by regulating cell fate, cell growth, and cell proliferation. With regard to proliferation, there is increasing evidence for a complex interaction between canonical Wnt signalling and the cell cycle. Mitogenic Wnt signalling regulates cell proliferation by promoting G1 phase. In mitosis, components of the Wnt signalling cascade function directly in spindle formation. Moreover, Wnt signalling is strongly activated in mitosis, suggesting that ‘mitotic Wnt signalling’ plays an important role to orchestrate a cell division program. Here, we review the complex interplay between Wnt signalling and the cell cycle. This contribution from Christof Niehrs and Sergio Acebron summarizes the role of Wnt signals during G1 phase and highlights functional activities of distinct pathway components during mitosis.

Butyrate, a breakdown product of dietary fibre, may in part mediate the ability of a high‐fibre diet to reduce the risk of colorectal cancer (CRC). However, CRC can still develop despite a high‐fibre diet; hence, butyrate resistance may influence colonic tumorigenesis. To model butyrate resistance in vitro, butyrate‐resistant cells were developed and mechanisms identified by which these cells evade the effects of butyrate. These mechanisms can be interpreted in light of the existing literature to further our understanding of butyrate resistance. The current review integrates findings from various studies from my laboratory on butyrate‐resistant cells, in addition to other work in the literature, to present a model of how butyrate‐resistant CRC cells balance different signalling outputs to generate the resistant phenotype. Loss of p300 expression in butyrate resistance allows increased noncanonical Wnt signalling to occur without activating differentiation pathways, AKT/PKB survival signalling is activated, and CBP‐Wnt activity is maintained in the pro‐proliferative range. Further, overexpression of Tcf3 suppresses butyrate‐induced Wnt hyperactivation. Other factors, signalling pathways and modifying influences also affect butyrate sensitivity vs. resistance. Understanding the possible role of butyrate resistance will assist in improving chemopreventive strategies for this disease.

The Wnt signalling pathway is one of the central signalling pathways in bone development, homeostasis and regulation of bone mineral density. It consists of numerous Wnt ligands, receptors and co-receptors, which ensure tight spatiotemporal regulation of Wnt signalling pathway activity and thus tight regulation of bone tissue homeostasis. This enables maintenance of optimal mineral density, tissue healing and adaptation to changes in bone loading. While the role of the canonical/β-catenin Wnt signalling pathway in bone homeostasis is relatively well researched, Wnt ligands can also activate several non-canonical, β-catenin independent signalling pathways with important effects on bone tissue. In this review, we will provide a thorough overview of the current knowledge on different non-canonical Wnt signalling pathways involved in bone biology, focusing especially on the pathways that affect bone cell differentiation, maturation and function, processes involved in bone tissue structure regulation. We will describe the role of the two most known non-canonical pathways (Wnt/planar cell polarity pathways and Wnt/Ca2+ pathway), as well as other signalling pathways with a strong role in bone biology that communicate with the Wnt signalling pathway through non-canonical Wnt signalling. Our goal is to bring additional attention to these still not well researched but important pathways in the regulation of bone biology in the hope of prompting additional research in the area of non-canonical Wnt signalling pathways.

Glioblastoma (GBM) continues to show a poor prognosis despite advances in diagnostic and therapeutic approaches. The discovery of reliable prognostic indicators may significantly improve treatment outcome of GBM. In this study, we aimed to explore the function of verbascoside (VB) in GBM and its effects on GBM cell biological processes via let‐7g‐5p and HMGA2. Differentially expressed GBM‐related microRNAs (miRNAs) were initially screened. Different concentrations of VB were applied to U87 and U251 GBM cells, and 50 µmol/L of VB was selected for subsequent experiments. Cells were transfected with let‐7g‐5p inhibitor or mimic, and overexpression of HMGA2 or siRNA against HMGA2 was induced, followed by treatment with VB. The regulatory relationships between VB, let‐7g‐5p, HMGA2 and Wnt/β‐catenin signalling pathway were determined. The results showed that HMGA2 was a direct target gene of let‐7g‐5p. VB treatment or let‐7g‐5p overexpression inhibited HMGA2 expression and the activation of Wnt/β‐catenin signalling pathway, which further inhibited cell viability, invasion, migration, tumour growth and promoted GBM cell apoptosis and autophagy. On the contrary, HMGA2 overexpression promoted cell viability, invasion, migration, tumour growth while inhibiting GBM cell apoptosis and autophagy. We demonstrated that VB inhibits cell viability and promotes cell autophagy in GBM cells by up‐regulating let‐7g‐5p and down‐regulating HMGA2 via Wnt/β‐catenin signalling blockade.

Wnt signaling is a highly conserved signaling pathway that plays a critical role in controlling embryonic and organ development, as well as cancer progression. Genome-wide sequencing and gene expression profile analyses have demonstrated that Wnt signaling is involved mainly in the processes of breast cancer proliferation and metastasis. The most recent studies have indicated that Wnt signaling is also crucial in breast cancer immune microenvironment regulation, stemness maintenance, therapeutic resistance, phenotype shaping, etc. Wnt/β-Catenin, Wnt–planar cell polarity (PCP), and Wnt–Ca 2+ signaling are three well-established Wnt signaling pathways that share overlapping components and play different roles in breast cancer progression. In this review, we summarize the main findings concerning the relationship between Wnt signaling and breast cancer and provide an overview of existing mechanisms, challenges, and potential opportunities for advancing the therapy and diagnosis of breast cancer.

Quercetin is a promising chemopreventive agent against cancer that inhibits tumor progression by inducing cell cycle arrest and promoting apoptotic cell death. Recently, the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway has been implicated in mammary tumorigenesis, where its abnormal activation is associated with the development of breast cancer. Thus, the objective of this study was to examine the biological activities of quercetin against mammary cancer cells, and to determine whether quercetin could regulate the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway. Quercetin showed dose-dependent inhibition of cell growth and induced apoptosis in 4T1 cells. Treatment of 20 μM quercetin suppressed ∼50% of basal TopFlash luciferase activity. Moreover, the inhibitory effect of quercetin on the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway was confirmed by the reduced stabilization of the β-catenin protein. Among various antagonists screened for the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway, the expression of DKK1, 2 and 3 was induced after treatment with 20 μM of quercetin. Stimulation with recombinant DKK1 protein, showed suppressive cell growth of mammary cancer cells instead of quercetin. When 4T1 cells were treated with recombinant Wnt3a or LiCl along with quercetin, both stimulators for the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway were able to restore the suppressed cell viability by quercetin. Thus, our data suggest that quercetin exerts its anticancer activity through the downregulation of Wnt/β-catenin signaling activity. These results indicate for the first time that quercetin decreases cell viability and induces apoptosis in murine mammary cancer cells, which is possibly mediated by DKK-dependent inhibition of the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway. In conclusion, our findings suggest that quercetin has great potential value as chemotherapeutic agent for cancer treatment, especially in breast cancer controlled by Wnt/β-catenin signaling activity.

Carcinoma cells residing in an intermediate phenotypic state along the epithelial–mesenchymal (E–M) spectrum are associated with malignant phenotypes, such as invasiveness, tumor-initiating ability, and metastatic dissemination. Using the recently described CD104⁺/CD44hi antigen marker combination, we isolated highly tumorigenic breast cancer cells residing stably—both in vitro and in vivo—in an intermediate phenotypic state and coexpressing both epithelial (E) and mesenchymal (M) markers. We demonstrate that tumorigenicity depends on individual cells residing in this E/M hybrid state and cannot be phenocopied by mixing two cell populations that reside stably at the two ends of the spectrum, i.e., in the E and in the M state. Hence, residence in a specific intermediate state along the E–M spectrum rather than phenotypic plasticity appears critical to the expression of tumor-initiating capacity. Acquisition of this E/M hybrid state is facilitated by the differential expression of EMT-inducing transcription factors (EMT-TFs) and is accompanied by the expression of adult stem cell programs, notably, active canonical Wnt signaling. Furthermore, transition from the highly tumorigenic E/M state to a fully mesenchymal phenotype, achieved by constitutive ectopic expression of Zeb1, is sufficient to drive cells out of the E/M hybrid state into a highly mesenchymal state, which is accompanied by a substantial loss of tumorigenicity and a switch from canonical to noncanonical Wnt signaling. Identifying the gatekeepers of the various phenotypic states arrayed along the E–M spectrum is likely to prove useful in developing therapeutic approaches that operate by shifting cancer cells between distinct states along this spectrum.

Development of resistance to therapy continues to be a serious clinical problem in breast cancer management. Cancer stem/progenitor cells have been shown to play roles in resistance to chemo‐ and radiotherapy. Here, we examined their role in the development of resistance to the oestrogen receptor antagonist tamoxifen. Tamoxifen‐resistant cells were enriched for stem/progenitors and expressed high levels of the stem cell marker Sox2. Silencing of the SOX2 gene reduced the size of the stem/progenitor cell population and restored sensitivity to tamoxifen. Conversely, ectopic expression of Sox2 reduced tamoxifen sensitivity in vitro  and  in vivo . Gene expression profiling revealed activation of the Wnt signalling pathway in Sox2‐expressing cells, and inhibition of Wnt signalling sensitized resistant cells to tamoxifen. Examination of patient tumours indicated that Sox2 levels are higher in patients after endocrine therapy failure, and also in the primary tumours of these patients, compared to those of responders. Together, these results suggest that development of tamoxifen resistance is driven by Sox2‐dependent activation of Wnt signalling in cancer stem/progenitor cells. Synopsis The development of Tam‐resistance in breast cancer is shown to be driven by Sox2‐dependent activation of Wnt signalling in cancer stem cells. Combining hormone therapy and Wnt secretion inhibitors might thus provide a novel strategy to treat breast cancer. Cancer stem cells play a role in the development of tamoxifen resistance. Sox2 expression is increased in tamoxifen‐resistant breast cancer cells. Sox2 inhibition restores cell sensitivity to tamoxifen. Sox2 is a biomarker for tamoxifen resistance. Combining hormone therapy with Wnt or Sox2 inhibitors may help prevent breast cancer recurrence. Graphical Abstract The development of Tam‐resistance in breast cancer is shown to be driven by Sox2‐dependent activation of Wnt signalling in cancer stem cells. Combining hormone therapy and Wnt secretion inhibitors might thus provide a novel strategy to treat breast cancer.

Endothelial cells play a key role in the regulation of disease. Defective regulation of endothelial cell homeostasis may cause mesenchymal activation of other endothelial cells or neighboring cell types, and in both cases contributes to organ fibrosis. Regulatory control of endothelial cell homeostasis is not well studied. Diabetes accelerates renal fibrosis in mice lacking the endothelial glucocorticoid receptor (GR), compared to control mice. Hypercholesterolemia further enhances severe renal fibrosis. The fibrogenic phenotype in the kidneys of diabetic mice lacking endothelial GR is associated with aberrant cytokine and chemokine reprogramming, augmented Wnt signaling and suppression of fatty acid oxidation. Both neutralization of IL-6 and Wnt inhibition improve kidney fibrosis by mitigating mesenchymal transition. Conditioned media from endothelial cells from diabetic mice lacking endothelial GR stimulate Wnt signaling-dependent epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition in tubular epithelial cells from diabetic controls. These data demonstrate that endothelial GR is an essential antifibrotic molecule in diabetes. The endothelial glucocorticoid receptor plays a key role in the regulation of many diseases, including diabetes. Loss of this receptor results in accelerated renal fibrosis, a heightened inflammatory milieu, augmented Wnt signaling and suppression of fatty acid oxidation in diabetic kidneys.