WNT8B explained

Protein Wnt-8b is a protein that in humans is encoded by the WNT8B gene.^{[1] [2]}

The WNT gene family consists of structurally related genes that encode secreted signaling proteins. These proteins have been implicated in oncogenesis and in several developmental processes, including regulation of cell fate and patterning during embryogenesis.

This gene is a member of the WNT gene family. It encodes a protein showing 95%, 86%, and 71% amino acid identity to the mouse, zebrafish and Xenopus Wnt8B proteins, respectively. The expression patterns of the human and mouse genes appear identical and are restricted to the developing brain. The chromosomal location of this gene to 10q24 suggests it as a candidate gene for partial epilepsy.

Further reading

• Katoh M, Katoh M . Conserved POU/OCT- and GATA-binding sites in 5'-flanking promoter region of mammalian WNT8B orthologs. . Int. J. Oncol. . 30 . 5 . 1273–7 . 2007 . 17390031 . 10.3892/ijo.30.5.1273. free .
• Deloukas P, Earthrowl ME, Grafham DV, etal . The DNA sequence and comparative analysis of human chromosome 10. . Nature . 429 . 6990 . 375–81 . 2004 . 15164054 . 10.1038/nature02462 . 2004Natur.429..375D . free .
• Brandenberger R, Wei H, Zhang S, etal . Transcriptome characterization elucidates signaling networks that control human ES cell growth and differentiation. . Nat. Biotechnol. . 22 . 6 . 707–16 . 2005 . 15146197 . 10.1038/nbt971 . 27764390 .
• Saitoh T, Mine T, Katoh M . Expression and regulation of WNT8A and WNT8B mRNAs in human tumor cell lines: up-regulation of WNT8B mRNA by beta-estradiol in MCF-7 cells, and down-regulation of WNT8A and WNT8B mRNAs by retinoic acid in NT2 cells. . Int. J. Oncol. . 20 . 5 . 999–1003 . 2002 . 11956596 . 10.3892/ijo.20.5.999.
• Saitoh T, Mine T, Katoh M . Up-regulation of WNT8B mRNA in human gastric cancer. . Int. J. Oncol. . 20 . 2 . 343–8 . 2002 . 11788899 . 10.3892/ijo.20.2.343.
• Lako M, Lindsay S, Bullen P, etal . A novel mammalian wnt gene, WNT8B, shows brain-restricted expression in early development, with sharply delimited expression boundaries in the developing forebrain. . Hum. Mol. Genet. . 7 . 5 . 813–22 . 1998 . 9536085 . 10.1093/hmg/7.5.813 . free .
• Smolich BD, McMahon JA, McMahon AP, Papkoff J . Wnt family proteins are secreted and associated with the cell surface. . Mol. Biol. Cell . 4 . 12 . 1267–75 . 1994 . 8167409 . 10.1091/mbc.4.12.1267. 275763 .

Notes and References

1. Lako M, Strachan T, Curtis AR, Lindsay S . Isolation and characterization of WNT8B, a novel human Wnt gene that maps to 10q24 . Genomics . 35 . 2 . 386–8 . Sep 1996 . 8661156 . 10.1006/geno.1996.0374 .
2. Web site: Entrez Gene: WNT8B wingless-type MMTV integration site family, member 8B.