Three decades of Wnts: a personal perspective on how a scientific field developed

R Nusse, H Varmus - The EMBO journal, 2012 - embopress.org
R Nusse, H Varmus
The EMBO journal, 2012embopress.org
Wnt genes and components of Wnt signalling pathways have been implicated in a wide
spectrum of important biological phenomena, ranging from early organismal development to
cell behaviours to several diseases, especially cancers. Emergence of the field of Wnt
signalling can be largely traced back to the discovery of the first mammalian Wnt gene in
1982. In this essay, we mark the thirtieth anniversary of that discovery by describing some of
the critical scientific developments that led to the flowering of this field of research.
Wnt genes and components of Wnt signalling pathways have been implicated in a wide spectrum of important biological phenomena, ranging from early organismal development to cell behaviours to several diseases, especially cancers. Emergence of the field of Wnt signalling can be largely traced back to the discovery of the first mammalian Wnt gene in 1982. In this essay, we mark the thirtieth anniversary of that discovery by describing some of the critical scientific developments that led to the flowering of this field of research.
embopress.org