On Apr. 27, 2003, Stanford researchers found that Wnt genes, first discovered as critical genes in cancer, are also critical regulators of stem cell development.

Important regulators of animal development, these proteins were suspected to have a role in keeping stem cells in their youthful, undifferentiated state – a suspicion that has proven correct, according to research carried out in two laboratories at Stanford’s Medical Center. The ability to isolate Wnt proteins could help researchers grow some types of stem cells for use in bone marrow transplants or other therapies. The study results were published in the Journal Nature.