A dorsal-ventral gradient of Wnt3a/β-catenin signals controls mouse hindgut extension and colon formation.

Despite the importance of Wnt signaling for adult intestinal stem cell homeostasis and colorectal cancer, relatively little is known about its role in colon formation during embryogenesis. The development of the colon starts with the formation and extension of the hindgut. We show that is expressed in the caudal embryo in a dorsal-ventral (DV) gradient across all three germ layers, including the hindgut.

A new gain-of-function mouse line to study the role of Wnt3a in development and disease.

Wnt/β-catenin signals are important regulators of embryonic and adult stem cell self-renewal and differentiation and play causative roles in tumorigenesis. Purified recombinant Wnt3a protein, or Wnt3a-conditioned culture medium, has been widely used to study canonical Wnt signaling in vitro or ex vivo. To study the role of Wnt3a in embryogenesis and cancer models, we developed a Cre recombinase activatable Rosa26(Wnt3a) allele, in which a Wnt3a cDNA was inserted into the Rosa26 locus to allow for conditional, spatiotemporally defined expression of Wnt3a ligand for gain-of-function (GOF) studies in mice.

Zfp703 Is a Wnt/β-Catenin Feedback Suppressor Targeting the β-Catenin/Tcf1 Complex.

The Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway controls embryonic development and adult stem cell maintenance through the regulation of transcription. Failure to downregulate Wnt signaling can result in embryonic malformations and cancer, highlighting the important role of negative regulators of the pathway. The Wnt pathway activates several negative feedback targets, including axin2 and Dkk1, that function at different levels of the signaling cascade; however, none have been identified that directly target active β-catenin/Tcf1 transcriptional complexes.

Sp5 and Sp8 recruit β-catenin and Tcf1-Lef1 to select enhancers to activate Wnt target gene transcription.

The ancient, highly conserved, Wnt signaling pathway regulates cell fate in all metazoans. We have previously shown that combined null mutations of the specificity protein (Sp) 1/Klf-like zinc-finger transcription factors Sp5 and Sp8 (i.e.

Lineage tracing of neuromesodermal progenitors reveals novel Wnt-dependent roles in trunk progenitor cell maintenance and differentiation.

In the development of the vertebrate body plan, Wnt3a is thought to promote the formation of paraxial mesodermal progenitors (PMPs) of the trunk region while suppressing neural specification. Recent lineage-tracing experiments have demonstrated that these trunk neural progenitors and PMPs derive from a common multipotent progenitor called the neuromesodermal progenitor (NMP). NMPs are known to reside in the anterior primitive streak (PS) region; however, the extent to which NMPs populate the PS and contribute to the vertebrate body plan, and the precise role that Wnt3a plays in regulating NMP self-renewal and differentiation are unclear.

Mesogenin 1 is a master regulator of paraxial presomitic mesoderm differentiation.

Neuromesodermal (NM) stem cells generate neural and paraxial presomitic mesoderm (PSM) cells, which are the respective progenitors of the spinal cord and musculoskeleton of the trunk and tail. The Wnt-regulated basic helix-loop-helix (bHLH) transcription factor mesogenin 1 (Msgn1) has been implicated as a cooperative regulator working in concert with T-box genes to control PSM formation in zebrafish, although the mechanism is unknown. We show here that, in mice, Msgn1 alone controls PSM differentiation by directly activating the transcriptional programs that define PSM identity, epithelial-mesenchymal transition, motility and segmentation.

Transcriptional profiling of Wnt3a mutants identifies Sp transcription factors as essential effectors of the Wnt/β-catenin pathway in neuromesodermal stem cells.

Neuromesodermal (NM) stem cells reside in the primitive streak (PS) of gastrulating vertebrate embryos and generate precursors of the spinal cord and musculoskeletal system. Although Wnt3a/β-catenin signaling is crucial for NM stem cell maintenance and differentiation, few key transcriptional effectors have been identified. Through a concerted transcriptional profiling and genetic approach we have determined that two Zn(2+)-finger transcription factors, Sp5 and Sp8, are regulated by Wnt3a in the PS, and are essential for neural and musculoskeletal patterning.

The Wnt3a/β-catenin target gene Mesogenin1 controls the segmentation clock by activating a Notch signalling program.

Segmentation is an organizing principle of body plans. The segmentation clock, a molecular oscillator best illustrated by the cyclic expression of Notch signalling genes, controls the periodic cleavage of somites from unsegmented presomitic mesoderm during vertebrate segmentation. Wnt3a controls the spatiotemporal expression of cyclic Notch genes; however, the underlying mechanisms remain obscure.

Wnt3a/beta-catenin signaling controls posterior body development by coordinating mesoderm formation and segmentation.

Somitogenesis is thought to be controlled by a segmentation clock, which consists of molecular oscillators in the Wnt3a, Fgf8 and Notch pathways. Using conditional alleles of Ctnnb1 (beta-catenin), we show that the canonical Wnt3a/beta-catenin pathway is necessary for molecular oscillations in all three signaling pathways but does not function as an integral component of the oscillator. Small, irregular somites persist in abnormally posterior locations in the absence of beta-catenin and cycling clock gene expression.

Influence of human Ect2 depletion and overexpression on cleavage furrow formation and abscission.

The guanine nucleotide-exchange factor (GEF) Ect2 is essential for cytokinesis. Here we studied the subcellular localization of Ect2 and examined the consequences of either depleting or overexpressing Ect2 in human cells. We show that in mitotic cells Ect2 localizes to the central spindle and to the cell cortex.

KIF14 and citron kinase act together to promote efficient cytokinesis.

Multiple mitotic kinesins and microtubule-associated proteins (MAPs) act in concert to direct cytokinesis (Glotzer, M. 2005. Science.

The Ste20-like kinase Mst2 activates the human large tumor suppressor kinase Lats1.

Originally identified in Drosophila melanogaster, the Warts(Wts)/Lats protein kinase has been proposed to function with two other Drosophila proteins, Hippo (Hpo) and Salvador (Sav), in the regulation of cell cycle exit and apoptosis. In mammals, two candidate Warts/Lats homologs, termed Lats1 and Lats2, have been described, and the targeted disruption of LATS1 in mice increases tumor formation. Little, however, is known about the function and regulation of human Lats kinases.