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- **************************
- * Wnt-1 family signature *
- **************************
-
- Wnt-1 (previously known as int-1) [1] is a proto-oncogene induced by the
- integration of the mouse mammary tumor virus. It is thought to play a role in
- intercellular communication and seems to be a signalling molecule important in
- the development of the central nervous system (CNS). The sequence of wnt-1 is
- highly conserved in mammals, fish, amphibians and in Drosophila where it is
- known as protein wingless (wg) and is implicated in segmentation polarity.
-
- Wnt-1 is a member of a large family of related proteins [2,3,4] that are all
- thought to be developmental regulators. These proteins are known as wnt-2
- (also known as irp), wnt-3, -3A, -4, -5A, -5B, -6, -7A, -7B, -8, -8B, -9 and
- -10. All these proteins share the following features characteristics of
- secretory proteins: a signal peptide, several potential N-glycosylation sites
- and more than 20 conserved cysteines that are probably involved in disulfide
- bonds. The Wnt proteins seem to adhere to the plasma membrane of the secreting
- cells and are therefore likely to signal over only few cell diameters.
-
- We selected a highly conserved region including three cysteines as a signature
- for this family of proteins.
-
- -Consensus pattern: C-K-C-H-G-[LIVM]-S-G-S-C
- -Sequences known to belong to this class detected by the pattern: ALL.
- -Other sequence(s) detected in SWISS-PROT: NONE.
- -Last update: October 1993 / Text revised.
-
- [ 1] Nusse R.
- Trends Genet. 4:291-295(1988).
- [ 2] Nusse R., Warmus H.E.
- Cell 69:1073-1087(1992).
- [ 3] McMahon A.P.
- Trends Genet. 8:1-5(1992).
- [ 4] Moon R.T.
- BioEssays 15:91-97(1993).
-