Wingless Type MMTV Integration Site Family, Member 2B (WNT2B)

WNT2B encodes a member of the wingless-type MMTV integration site (WNT) family of highly conserved, secreted signaling factors. WNT family members function in a variety of developmental processes including regulation of cell growth and differentiation and are characterized by a WNT-core domain. This gene may play a role in human development as well as human carcinogenesis. This gene produces two alternative transcript variants.WNT13 encodes a 372-amino acid polypeptide including a putative secretory signal peptide. Northern blot analysis revealed that WNT13 was expressed as a 2.5-kb mRNA in fetal brain, lung, and kidney. Unlike most other WNTs, which tend to have restricted expression in adult tissues, its transcript was found in a wide variety of adult tissues.