Wnt Signaling in Cancer Metabolism and Immunity

• Main Authors: Sara El-Sahli, Ying Xie, Lisheng Wang, Sheng Liu
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2019-06-01
• Series: Cancers
• Subjects: Wnt; cancer; glycolysis; glutaminolysis; lipogenesis; metabolic negative feedback; dendritic cells; T cells; cancer immunotherapy
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6694/11/7/904

The Wingless (Wnt)/β-catenin pathway has long been associated with tumorigenesis, tumor plasticity, and tumor-initiating cells called cancer stem cells (CSCs). Wnt signaling has recently been implicated in the metabolic reprogramming of cancer cells. Aberrant Wnt signaling is considered to be a driver of metabolic alterations of glycolysis, glutaminolysis, and lipogenesis, processes essential to the survival of bulk and CSC populations. Over the past decade, the Wnt pathway has also been shown to regulate the tumor microenvironment (TME) and anti-cancer immunity. Wnt ligands released by tumor cells in the TME facilitate the immune evasion of cancer cells and hamper immunotherapy. In this review, we illustrate the role of the canonical Wnt/β-catenin pathway in cancer metabolism and immunity to explore the potential therapeutic approach of targeting Wnt signaling from a metabolic and immunological perspective.