Aberrant Wnt signaling is a hallmark of many cancer types such as colon cancer. However, the effect of altered Wnt signaling is not only restricted to cancer cells but also dynamically interacts with a tumor microenvironment and has the ability to directly regulate the anti-tumor immune response. It has been reported that tumors induce immune tolerance through the activation of canonical Wnt signaling in dendritic cells promoting T regulatory responses, and also that both canonical and noncanonical Wnt proteins program dendritic cell responses for tolerance. Thus, the Wnt signaling pathway may be a novel and promising therapeutic target for anticancer immunotherapy. In this review, we will discuss the molecular mechanisms involved in immune cell response regulation mediated by canonical and noncanonical Wnt signaling.
Part of the book: Cell Signalling