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10 sources retrieved · Most recent: April 2026 · Index updated 15 days ago
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WNT8B
Wnt family member 8B
Chromosome 10 · 10q24.31
NCBI Gene: 7479Ensembl: ENSG00000075290.8HGNC: HGNC:12789UniProt: A0A384NKY7
18PubMed Papers
20Diseases
0Drugs
0Pathogenic Variants
DATA QUALITY
✓ Experimental GO Evidence✓ Swiss-Prot Reviewed
canonical Wnt signaling pathwayreceptor ligand activitycellular response to retinoic acidcytokine activityopen-angle glaucomaAbnormality of the skeletal systemhepatocellular carcinomanasopharyngeal carcinoma
✦AI Summary

WNT8B encodes a secreted glycoprotein ligand that activates frizzled family receptors to transduce canonical Wnt signaling 1. The gene maps to chromosome 10 and is expressed in multiple fetal and adult tissues 1. WNT8B plays critical roles in nervous system development, particularly thalamus patterning and neural progenitor cell differentiation 2, with c-JUN identified as a key transcriptional regulator of WNT8B expression. The protein undergoes context-dependent signaling to activate downstream targets including MYC and CCND1, and can also activate non-canonical pathways involving RHOA and JNK 3. WNT8B dysregulation associates with multiple cancers. In hepatocellular carcinoma, elevated WNT8B expression correlates with poor prognosis and is transcriptionally regulated by zinc finger protein ZNF191, promoting cell proliferation via canonical Wnt signaling 4. High WNT8B expression independently predicts reduced survival in nasopharyngeal carcinoma 5. WNT8B mutations and aberrant expression occur in Hirschsprung disease, suggesting developmental significance 6. Expression is hormonally regulated—upregulated by β-estradiol in breast cancer cells and downregulated by retinoic acid during neuronal differentiation 7. Copy number loss at WNT8B occurs in undifferentiated pleomorphic sarcoma 8, indicating tumor-suppressive potential in specific contexts.

Sources cited
1
WNT8B maps to chromosome 10q24 and is expressed in fetal and adult tissues; Wnt genes regulate mesoderm induction, embryonic axis specification, and CNS patterning
PMID: 8661156
2
WNT8b mutations and abnormal expression are present in children with sporadic Hirschsprung disease
PMID: 20972907
3
WNT8B mRNA is upregulated by β-estradiol in MCF-7 breast cancer cells and downregulated by retinoic acid in NT2 cells; WNT8B activates the Wnt-β-catenin-TCF signaling pathway
PMID: 11956596
4
High WNT8B protein expression is an independent prognostic factor associated with reduced survival in nasopharyngeal carcinoma
PMID: 34287269
5
WNT8B expression is frequently increased in hepatocellular carcinoma, associates with poorer prognosis, and is transcriptionally regulated by ZNF191; Wnt8B knockdown inhibits HCC cell growth via canonical Wnt signaling
PMID: 33197287
6
c-JUN deficiency reduces WNT8B expression and impairs thalamus development and nerve fiber extension in mice and human neural models
PMID: 39707500
7
WNT8B shows copy number loss in undifferentiated pleomorphic sarcoma
PMID: 40415599
8
WNT8B signals through canonical pathway to upregulate MYC, CCND1 and other targets, and through non-canonical pathway to activate RHOA and JNK; POU/OCT and GATA transcription factors regulate WNT8B expression
PMID: 17390031
Disease Associationsⓘ20
open-angle glaucomaOpen Targets
0.29Weak
Abnormality of the skeletal systemOpen Targets
0.13Weak
hepatocellular carcinomaOpen Targets
0.08Suggestive
nasopharyngeal carcinomaOpen Targets
0.05Suggestive
asthmaOpen Targets
0.05Suggestive
pneumoniaOpen Targets
0.05Suggestive
type 2 diabetes mellitusOpen Targets
0.04Suggestive
neoplasmOpen Targets
0.04Suggestive
diabetes mellitusOpen Targets
0.04Suggestive
colobomaOpen Targets
0.03Suggestive
kidney diseaseOpen Targets
0.02Suggestive
Alzheimer diseaseOpen Targets
0.02Suggestive
Hirschsprung diseaseOpen Targets
0.02Suggestive
gastric cancerOpen Targets
0.02Suggestive
epilepsyOpen Targets
0.01Suggestive
polycystic ovary syndromeOpen Targets
0.01Suggestive
lung adenocarcinomaOpen Targets
0.01Suggestive
atopic eczemaOpen Targets
0.01Suggestive
colorectal cancerOpen Targets
0.01Suggestive
liver and intrahepatic bile duct neoplasmOpen Targets
0.01Suggestive
Pathogenic Variants
No pathogenic variants reported on ClinVar for this gene.
View on ClinVar ↗
Related Genes
PORCNProtein interaction98%WNT3AProtein interaction95%FZD2Protein interaction94%RYKProtein interaction94%SFRP1Protein interaction94%WNT7BProtein interaction94%
Tissue Expression6 tissues
Brain
100%
Lung
12%
Ovary
12%
Liver
10%
Heart
0%
Bone Marrow
0%
Gene Interaction Network
Click a node to explore
WNT8BPORCNWNT3AFZD2RYKSFRP1WNT7B
PROTEIN STRUCTURE
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AlphaFoldAI-predicted · UniProt Q93098
View on AlphaFold ↗
Constraintⓘ
LOEUFⓘ
0.96LoF Tolerant
pLIⓘ
0.00Tolerant
Observed/Expected LoF0.68 [0.49–0.96]
RankingsWhere WNT8B stands among ~20K protein-coding genes
  • #14,870of 20,598
    Most Researched18
  • #9,011of 17,882
    Most Constrained (LOEUF)0.96
Genes detectedWNT8B
Sources retrieved10 papers
Response time—
📄 Sources
10▼
1
Isolation and characterization of WNT8B, a novel human Wnt gene that maps to 10q24.
PMID: 8661156
Genomics · 1996
1.00
2
[Mutation and expression of WNT8b gene and SHH gene in Hirschsprung disease].
PMID: 20972907
Zhonghua Wei Chang Wai Ke Za Zhi · 2010
0.90
3
Expression and regulation of WNT8A and WNT8B mRNAs in human tumor cell lines: up-regulation of WNT8B mRNA by beta-estradiol in MCF-7 cells, and down-regulation of WNT8A and WNT8B mRNAs by retinoic acid in NT2 cells.
PMID: 11956596
Int J Oncol · 2002
0.80
4
WNT8B as an Independent Prognostic Marker for Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma.
PMID: 34287269
Curr Oncol · 2021
0.70
5
Wnt8B, transcriptionally regulated by ZNF191, promotes cell proliferation of hepatocellular carcinoma via Wnt signaling.
PMID: 33197287
Cancer Sci · 2021
0.60