Kengaku M, Capdevila J, Rodriguez-Esteban C, De La Peña J, Johnson RL, Izpisúa Belmonte JC, Tabin CJ. Distinct WNT pathways regulating AER formation and dorsoventral polarity in the chick limb bud.
Science 1998;
280:1274-7. [PMID:
9596583 DOI:
10.1126/science.280.5367.1274]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 339] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/02/2022]
Abstract
The apical ectodermal ridge (AER) is an essential structure for vertebrate limb development. Wnt3a is expressed during the induction of the chick AER, and misexpression of Wnt3a induces ectopic expression of AER-specific genes in the limb ectoderm. The genes beta-catenin and Lef1 can mimic the effect of Wnt3a, and blocking the intrinsic Lef1 activity disrupts AER formation. Hence, Wnt3a functions in AER formation through the beta-catenin/LEF1 pathway. In contrast, neither beta-catenin nor Lef1 affects the Wnt7a-regulated dorsoventral polarity of the limb. Thus, two related Wnt genes elicit distinct responses in the same tissues by using different intracellular pathways.
Collapse