Abstract

Wnt proteins play central roles in a variety of developmental processes and regulate cell differentiation, cell fate and cell proliferation. It has been also demonstrated that Wnt proteins profoundly participate in cartilage development. Interestingly, activation of Wnt/beta-catenin signaling in chondrocytes induces a profile of matrix degradation enzymes quite similar to that of cartilage matrix degradation such as osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis. In this review we discuss the involvement of Wnt/beta-catenin signaling in pathological cartilage matrix degradation.