Dysregulation of Wnt Pathway Components in Human Salivary Gland Tumors

Abstract

This is the first report (to our knowledge) showing down-regulation of an antagonist of the Wnt pathway, WIF1, and up-regulation of a Wnt agonist, WNT1, in salivary gland tumor cells. This dysregulation of WNT1 and WIF1 expression, coupled with the observed increase in beta-catenin transcription, may consequently promote salivary gland oncogenesis. Our data support the study of the Wnt pathway as a putative therapeutic target for salivary gland cancer.