WNT10A Promotes an Invasive and Self-Renewing Phenotype in Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma

In a study investigating the role of WNT10A in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC), researchers found that WNT10A was overexpressed more than 4-fold in the invasive front of tumor cells in p53(R175H)-overexpressing 3D-organotypic cultures, which are used to mimic early invasion in ESCC. This overexpression was also observed in human ESCC tissues compared to normal adjacent tissues, and high levels of WNT10A were associated with poor patient survival. The study demonstrated that WNT10A overexpression in transformed esophageal cells led to increased migration, invasion, and proliferation, as well as a higher population of cells with cancer stem cell markers CD44(High)/CD24(Low), indicating enhanced self-renewal capabilities. These findings suggest that WNT10A may act as an oncofetal factor, normally involved in esophageal development but aberrantly overexpressed during tumorigenesis to promote ESCC progression and potentially maintain a subset of cancer stem cells.