Proto-oncogene protein Wnt-3 is a protein that in humans is encoded by the WNT3 gene.

The WNT gene family consists of structurally related genes which encode secreted signaling proteins. These proteins have been implicated in oncogenesis and in several developmental processes, including regulation of cell fate and patterning during embryogenesis. This gene is a member of the WNT gene family. It encodes a protein which shows 98% amino acid identity to mouse Wnt3 protein, and 84% to human WNT3A protein, another WNT gene product. The mouse studies show the requirement of Wnt3 in primary axis formation in the mouse. Studies of the gene expression suggest that this gene may play a key role in some cases of human breast, rectal, lung, and gastric cancer through activation of the WNT-beta-catenin-TCF signaling pathway. This gene is clustered with WNT15, another family member, in the chromosome 17q21 region. [provided by RefSeq]. Publication Note: This RefSeq record includes a subset of the publications that are available for this gene. Please see the Gene record to access additional publications.
Function: Ligand for members of the frizzled family of seven transmembrane receptors. Wnt-3 and Wnt-3a play distinct roles in cell-cell signaling during morphogenesis of the developing neural tube (By similarity).