WNT8A
Description
The WNT8A (Wnt family member 8A) is a protein-coding gene located on chromosome 5.
Wnt-8a protein is encoded by the WNT8A gene in humans. It is involved in the development of early embryos and may also play a role in germ cell tumors. Wnt-8a is part of the Wnt family of genes, which are essential for axis patterning in vertebrates. It produces two proteins, Wnt8a.1 and Wnt8a.2, through a complex mechanism involving signaling molecules. Wnt8a is crucial for neural crest induction via Wnt/β-catenin signaling, as demonstrated in zebrafish experiments. This signaling pathway is involved in the development of various cell types. In the absence of Wnt signaling, β-catenin is degraded. However, when a Wnt ligand binds to a frizzled receptor and Lrp5/6, β-catenin is stabilized and interacts with transcription factors, activating Wnt expression. Wnt8a is particularly important for neural crest development. Knockdown of Wnt8a in zebrafish embryos results in the loss of expression of genes essential for neural crest induction, such as pax3, sox10, and foxd3. It remains unclear whether this loss is a direct consequence of Wnt8a's role in the induction process or a downstream effect of disruptions in Wnt8a signaling during early development.
WNT8A is also known as WNT8D.
