R-spondins 2 and 3 can potentiate WNT signaling in the absence of LGRs through interactions with ZNRF3/RNF43 E3 ubiquitin ligases and heparan sulfate proteoglycans, defining two alternative modes of R-spondin-mediated signaling.
Heparan Sulfate Proteoglycans function as receptors for the R-spondins, a family of growth factors that amplify the strength of WNT signaling during development and in adult stem cells.
Valerie PI Vidal, Fariba Jian-Motamedi ... Andreas Schedl
In the developing kidney, secreted molecules of the R-spondin family control progenitor cell proliferation and nephron formation by permitting WNT/β-catenin signalling.
R-spondin3 global haplo-insufficiency or its deletion in pre-osteoblasts lead to gain of bone mass in the appendicular skeleton with no or opposite phenotype in the axial skeleton.