Abstract

The socio-economic burden of renal disease is enormous due to the unavailability of effective treatment to cure it. High risk patients have only two costly options in chronic renal disease, dialysis and renal replacement therapy (RRT). RRT has limitations of the organ donor, and ethical concerns are also associated with it. The Wnt/beta-catenin pathway is highly conserved and active during embryogenesis in early life but suppressed in adults. Animal studies suggested that knockdown of Wnt protein led to abnormal kidney development at birth. In the adult kidney, Wnt/beta-- catenin pathway activation led to tissue repair after acute injury, but sustained activation is harmful and involved in renal fibrosis. Recently, Wnt/beta-catenin signaling cascade has emerged as a potential pathway involved in adult renal diseases and is considered an attractive therapeutic target for developing effective therapeutic intervention. Precise information about the involvement of specific types of Wnt/beta-catenin pathway components in adult renal disease using cutting-edge molecular techniques will help develop novel therapies for renal diseases. Future studies will determine Wnt/beta-catenin signaling proteins' effectiveness and safety as a treatment option for renal disorders.

Keywords: Renal disease, Wnt/beta-catenin, signaling, therapeutic target, Wnt protein secretion, porcupine enzyme.