Serum albumin maintains Wnt3a water solubility and activity
Abstract
Wnt proteins regulate adult tissue homeostasis and repair by driving stem cell self-renewal and differentiation. High-performance Wnt preparations have enormous therapeutic potential, especially alongside various stem cell technologies. Currently, a major limitation of most Wnt preparations is that they inevitably require fetal bovine serum (FBS) or detergents to maintain Wnt solubility and activity. Recently, afamin (AFM) was identified as a serum factor that solubilizes Wnt3a in conditioned media (CM), obviating the requirement for animal sera. Here, we show that serum albumin (SA) helps maintain the activity and stability of AFM-solubilized Wnt3a in CM, likely through a stabilizing effect. We further demonstrate, using test-tube assays, that SA alone efficiently solubilizes purified Wnt3a (pWnt3a) independently of AFM. This approach enables the conversion of conventional detergent-solubilized pWnt3a (CHAPS–pWnt3a) into SA–pWnt3a through dialysis-mediated detergent removal. Together, these findings define a simple and robust SA-based strategy for preserving Wnt3a activity, addressing a long-standing challenge in both experimental and therapeutic settings.
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BibTeX
@article{yeo2026serum,
title = {{Serum albumin maintains Wnt3a water solubility and activity}},
author = {Joo Hye Yeo and Jiyeon Chae and Soon Sung Kwon and Jaeeun Han and Ines Kusen and Ju Yeon Lim and Hyo Lee and Hansol Kim and Seungjoo Haam and Jae-Ho Cheong and Taeil Kim and Seok Jun Moon and Yang Ouk Jung and Jinu Lee and Chul Hoon Kim},
journal = {Communications Biology},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1038/s42003-026-11202-y},
url = {https://www.nature.com/articles/s42003-026-11202-y},
note = {CC BY-NC-ND 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Serum albumin maintains Wnt3a water solubility and activity
AU - Joo Hye Yeo
AU - Jiyeon Chae
AU - Soon Sung Kwon
AU - Jaeeun Han
AU - Ines Kusen
AU - Ju Yeon Lim
AU - Hyo Lee
AU - Hansol Kim
AU - Seungjoo Haam
AU - Jae-Ho Cheong
AU - Taeil Kim
AU - Seok Jun Moon
AU - Yang Ouk Jung
AU - Jinu Lee
AU - Chul Hoon Kim
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/24
JO - Communications Biology
DO - 10.1038/s42003-026-11202-y
UR - https://www.nature.com/articles/s42003-026-11202-y
AB - Wnt proteins regulate adult tissue homeostasis and repair by driving stem cell self-renewal and differentiation. High-performance Wnt preparations have enormous therapeutic potential, especially alongside various stem cell technologies. Currently, a major limitation of most Wnt preparations is that they inevitably require fetal bovine serum (FBS) or detergents to maintain Wnt solubility and activity. Recently, afamin (AFM) was identified as a serum factor that solubilizes Wnt3a in conditioned media (CM), obviating the requirement for animal sera. Here, we show that serum albumin (SA) helps maintain the activity and stability of AFM-solubilized Wnt3a in CM, likely through a stabilizing effect. We further demonstrate, using test-tube assays, that SA alone efficiently solubilizes purified Wnt3a (pWnt3a) independently of AFM. This approach enables the conversion of conventional detergent-solubilized pWnt3a (CHAPS–pWnt3a) into SA–pWnt3a through dialysis-mediated detergent removal. Together, these findings define a simple and robust SA-based strategy for preserving Wnt3a activity, addressing a long-standing challenge in both experimental and therapeutic settings.
SN - 2399-3642
ER -