Frizzled receptors

Frizzled receptors (FZDs) are a family of seven-span transmembrane receptors originally identified in Drosophila melanogaster that serve as receptors for secreted Wingless-type (Wnt) ligands in the Wnt signaling pathway, with there being 10 FZD receptors and 19 Wnt proteins that interact with them.  Functionally, Frizzled receptors play crucial roles in regulating cell polarity, embryonic development, cell proliferation, formation of neural synapses and other processes in developing and adult organisms, and are also involved in the progression of human cancers and neurodegenerative conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease.  Wnt proteins play critical roles in the proliferation of stem cells with FZD7 in particular being a critical regulator.

Further reading

Malbon (2004) Frizzleds: new members of the superfamily of G-protein-coupled receptors. Front Biosci. 1 (9) 1048 PMID: 14977528

Zeng et al (2018) Frizzled Receptors as Potential Therapeutic Targets in Human Cancers. Int J Mol Sci. 19(5) 1543 PMID: 29789460

Pascual-Vargas and Salinas PC (2021) A Role for Frizzled and Their Post-Translational Modifications in the Mammalian Central Nervous System. Front Cell Dev Biol. 9 692888 PMID: 34414184