Ferrying wingless across the synaptic cleft.

Cell

Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA.

Published: October 2009

Secreted Wnt morphogens mediate cell-cell communication, but the mechanism of Wnt transfer between cells is unknown. Korkut et al. (2009) report that the transmembrane protein Evi is a versatile carrier that guides Wingless to presynaptic terminals of motor neurons and then escorts it across the synaptic cleft. In postsynaptic muscles, Evi promotes Frizzled-2 trafficking.

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http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2009.09.032DOI Listing

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