The Activated Wnt/β-catenin Pathway and Cervical Lesions

QIAO Di; SONG Jing-hui

Abstract：Wnt/β-catenin pathway, the classic Wnt pathway, regulates the cell proliferation, differentiation, adhesion and apoptosis. As one of the intercellular signal transduction pathways, Wnt/β-catenin pathway also plays an important role in embryonic development. Aberrant activation of the Wnt signaling pathway can lead to abnormal cell proliferation and differentiation, and cancer. In addition, Wnt signaling pathway is also one of the key pathways induced the epithelial-mesenchymal transformation (EMT) of tumor cells, which thereby affect tumor progression and metastasis. There are many factors in this pathway, including those core factors such as E-cadherin andβ-catenin. E-cadherin andβ-catenin are two key proteins in the junction complex to form adhesion between epithelial cells. The down-regulated E-cadherin and the ectopic expression of β-catenin can activate those target genes of the Wnt pathway, which promotes the transformation of epithelial cells by reducing the adhesion as well as increasing proliferation and migration of epithelial cells. This paper reviewed the research progress on the Wnt/β-catenin pathway activation and the EMT, as well as the related mechanism and clinical outcomes of cervical lesions.