Fig. 10.

Canonical Wnt pathway and the regenerative response. A schematic representation of our working model. Canonical Wnt is highly active in the embryonic cochlea and, although mildly downregulated with age, Wnt pathway components continue to be expressed throughout neonatal stages and in the adult. However, downstream targets that are related to cell proliferation, cell-cycle progression and cellular growth are enriched at early neonatal stages compared with late stages, both with and without exogenous Wnt activation. This downstream transcriptional response to exogenous Wnt stimulation may therefore play a role in the age-dependent decline in the regenerative capacity of the postnatal mammalian cochlea.