Irradiationfrompersesourcesisubiquitousandcloselyassociatedwithhumanactivities.Radiationtherapy(RT),animportantcomponentofmultipleradiationorigins,isacommontherapeuticmodalityforcancer.Moreimportantly,RTprovidessignificantcontributiontooncotherapybykillingtumorcells.However,duringthecourseoftherapy,irradiationofnormaltissuescanresultinawiderangeofsideeffects,includingself-limitedacutetoxicities,mildchronicsymptoms,orsevereorgandysfunction.Althoughnumerouspromisingradioprotectiveagentshaveemerged,onlyafewhavesuccessfullyenteredthemarketbecauseofvariouslimitations.Atpresent,thewidelyacceptedhypothesisforprotectionagainstradiation-causedinjuryinvolvestheWntcanonicalpathway.ActivatingtheWnt/β-cateninsignalingpathwaymayprotectthesalivarygland,oralmucosa,andgastrointestinalepitheliumfromradiationdamage.Theunderlyingmechanismsincludeinhibitingapoptosisandpreservingnormaltissuefunctions.However,aberrantWntsignalingunderliesawiderangeofpathologiesinhumans,anditsvariouscomponentscontributetocancer.Moreover,studieshavesuggestedthatWnt/β-cateninsignalingmayleadtoradioresistanceofcancerstemcell.ThesefactsmarkedlycomplicateanydefinitionoftheexactfunctionoftheWntpathway.
