Briefly, binding of wnt proteins to a seven-span-transmembrane receptor frizzled (frz) leads to activation of WNT signaling and stabilization of cytoplasmic beta-catenin which can translocate to the cell membrane or nucleus, by mechanisms including regulation of cytokines, matrix metalloproteases (MMPs), TGF-beta, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha and HGF [35].