Cited by 142Autism Spectrum Disorder ResearchGenetics and Neurodevelopmental DisordersWnt/β-catenin signaling in development and cancer

A review of the evidence for the canonical Wnt pathway in autism spectrum disorders

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Kalkman, Hans·2012·Molecular Autism

Abstract

Microdeletion and microduplication copy number variations are found in patients with autism spectrum disorder and in a number of cases they include genes that are involved in the canonical Wnt signaling pathway (for example, FZD9, BCL9 or CDH8). Association studies investigating WNT2, DISC1, MET, DOCK4 or AHI1 also provide evidence that the canonical Wnt pathway might be affected in autism. Prenatal medication with sodium-valproate or antidepressant drugs increases autism risk. In animal studies, it has been found that these medications promote Wnt signaling, including among others an increase in Wnt2 gene expression. Notably, the available genetic information indicates that not only canonical Wnt pathway activation, but also inhibition seems to increase autism risk. The canonical Wnt pathway plays a role in dendrite growth and suboptimal activity negatively affects the dendritic arbor. In principle, this provides a logical explanation as to why both hypo- and hyperactivity may generate a similar set of behavioral and cognitive symptoms. However, without a validated biomarker to stratify for deviant canonical Wnt pathway activity, it is probably too dangerous to treat patients with compounds that modify pathway activity.

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Crossref · 10.1186/2040-2392-3-10

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  • Wnt signaling has multiple roles, including in cell adhesion, dendritic remodeling, and early brain development.

    “However, as clearly summarized by Kalkman (Kalkman, 2012), one must recognize the multiple roles of Wnt signaling, not only in cell adhesion and dendritic remodeling but also in early brain development (Rosso et al., 2005; Salinas and Zou, 2008; Ueda et al., 2008; Wayman et al., 2006; Yu and Malenka, 2003).”
  • Studies on hcASD genes and iPSC-derived ASD neurons highlight signaling pathways that are commonly disrupted, such as PI3K/AKT, RAS/ERK, WNT and β-catenin.

    “Consistently, studies on hcASD genes and iPSC-derived ASD neurons highlight signaling pathways that are commonly disrupted, such as PI3K/AKT [79, 80], RAS/ERK [79, 80, 82, 83], WNT and β-catenin [57, 83, 84].”

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Authors
Kalkman, H.
Affiliations
Novartis (Switzerland) (CH)
Corresponding author
Kalkman, Hans
Venue
Molecular Autism
Published
2012
Volume
3
Issue
1
Pages
10
ISSN
2040-2392 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W2134017697
Cited by
142
References
132
Citations by year
2026: 7 · 2025: 5 · 2024: 4 · 2023: 8 · 2022: 9 · 2021: 17 · 2020: 11 · 2019: 10 · 2018: 20 · 2017: 9 · 2016: 17 · 2015: 11 · 2014: 6 · 2013: 8
FWCI
4.10
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
cc-by
Locations
  • Molecular Autism (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Autism Spectrum Disorder Research
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Genetics › Genetics and Neurodevelopmental Disorders
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Wnt/β-catenin signaling in development and cancer
Keywords
autism spectrum disorder, canonical Wnt signaling pathway, copy number variation, FZD9, BCL9, CDH8, Wnt2, DISC1, MET, DOCK4, AHI1, prenatal valproate exposure, antidepressant exposure, dendritic arbor development, biomarkers, Wnt pathway inhibitors

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