High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! The Wnt signaling pathway describes a network of proteins most well known for their roles in embryogenesis and cancer, but also involved in normal physiological processes in adult animals. The name Wnt was coined as a combination of Wg (wingless) and Int and can be pronounced as 'wint'. The wingless gene had originally been identified as a recessive mutation affecting wing and haltere development in Drosophila melanogaster.