Project description:The histone methyltransferase complex PRC2 controls key steps in developmental transitions and cell fate choices; however, its roles in vertebrate eye development remain unknown. Here, we report that in Xenopus, PRC2 regulates the progression of retinal progenitors from proliferation to differentiation. We show that the PRC2 core components are enriched in retinal progenitors and downregulated in differentiated cells. Knockdown of the PRC2 core component Ezh2 leads to reduced retinal progenitor proliferation, in part due to upregulation of the Cdk inhibitor p15(Ink4b). In addition, although PRC2 knockdown does not alter eye patterning, retinal progenitor gene expression or expression of the neural competence factor Sox2, it does cause suppression of proneural bHLH gene expression, indicating that PRC2 is crucial for the initiation of neural differentiation in the retina. Consistent with this, knocking down or blocking PRC2 function constrains the generation of most retinal neural cell types and promotes a Müller glial cell fate decision. We also show that Wnt/β-catenin signaling acting through the receptor Frizzled 5, but independent of Sox2, regulates expression of key PRC2 subunits in the developing retina. This is consistent with a role for this pathway in coordinating proliferation and the transition to neurogenesis in the Xenopus retina. Our data establish PRC2 as a regulator of proliferation and differentiation during eye development.
Project description:There is widespread interest in defining factors and mechanisms that stimulate proliferation of pancreatic islet cells. Wnt signaling is an important regulator of organ growth and cell fates, and genes encoding Wnt-signaling factors are expressed in the pancreas. However, it is unclear whether Wnt signaling regulates pancreatic islet proliferation and differentiation. Here we provide evidence that Wnt signaling stimulates islet beta cell proliferation. The addition of purified Wnt3a protein to cultured beta cells or islets promoted expression of Pitx2, a direct target of Wnt signaling, and Cyclin D2, an essential regulator of beta cell cycle progression, and led to increased beta cell proliferation in vitro. Conditional pancreatic beta cell expression of activated beta-catenin, a crucial Wnt signal transduction protein, produced similar phenotypes in vivo, leading to beta cell expansion, increased insulin production and serum levels, and enhanced glucose handling. Conditional beta cell expression of Axin, a potent negative regulator of Wnt signaling, led to reduced Pitx2 and Cyclin D2 expression by beta cells, resulting in reduced neonatal beta cell expansion and mass and impaired glucose tolerance. Thus, Wnt signaling is both necessary and sufficient for islet beta cell proliferation, and our study provides previously unrecognized evidence of a mechanism governing endocrine pancreas growth and function.
Project description:The canonical Wnt/beta-catenin pathway is a highly conserved signaling cascade that is involved in development and stem cell renewal. The deregulation of this pathway is often associated with increased cell growth and neoplasia. The small GTPase Rac has been shown to influence canonical Wnt signaling by regulating beta-catenin stability through an unknown mechanism. We report that DOCK4, a guanine nucleotide exchange factor (GEF) for Rac and a member of the CDM family of unconventional GEFs, mediates Wnt-induced Rac activation in the canonical Wnt/beta-catenin pathway. DOCK4 expression regulates cellular beta-catenin levels in response to the Wnt signal, in vitro. Biochemical studies demonstrate that DOCK4 interacts with the beta-catenin degradation complex, consisting of the proteins adenomatosis polyposis coli, Axin and glycogen synthase kinase 3beta (GSK3beta). This molecular interaction enhances beta-catenin stability and Axin degradation. Furthermore, we observe that DOCK4 is phosphorylated by GSK3beta, which enhances Wnt-induced Rac activation. Using a T-cell factor reporter zebrafish we confirm that DOCK4 is required for Wnt/beta-catenin activity, in vivo. These results elucidate a novel intracellular signaling mechanism in which a Rac GEF, DOCK4 acts as a scaffold protein in the Wnt/beta-catenin pathway.
Project description:Wnt/?-catenin signaling is implicated in many physiological processes, including development, tissue homeostasis, and tissue regeneration. In human cancers, Wnt/?-catenin signaling is highly activated, which has led to the development of various Wnt signaling inhibitors for cancer therapies. Nonetheless, the blockade of Wnt signaling causes side effects such as impairment of tissue homeostasis and regeneration. Recently, several studies have identified cancer-specific Wnt signaling regulators. In this review, we discuss the Wnt inhibitors currently being used in clinical trials and suggest how additional cancer-specific regulators could be utilized to treat Wnt signaling-associated cancer.
Project description:We have recently shown that loss of β-catenin prevents the development of cholestatic liver injury and fibrosis after bile duct ligation (BDL) due to loss of the inhibitory farnesoid X receptor (FXR)/β-catenin complex, which results in decreased hepatic bile acids (BAs) through activation of FXR. To further understand the role of Wnt/β-catenin signaling in regulating BA metabolism and cholestasis, we performed BDL on mice in which hepatocyte Wnt signaling is deficient but β-catenin is intact (low-density lipoprotein receptor-related protein [LRP]5/6 knockout [DKO]) as well as mice that have enhanced hepatocyte β-catenin expression (serine 45 mutated to aspartic acid [S45D] transgenic [TG] mice). Despite decreased biliary injury after BDL, hepatic injury, fibrosis, and inflammation were comparable in DKO and wild-type (WT) mice. Notably, the FXR/β-catenin complex was maintained in DKO livers after BDL, coincident with significantly elevated hepatic BA levels. Similarly, TG mice did not display accelerated injury or increased mortality despite overexpression of β-catenin. There was no augmentation of FXR/β-catenin association in TG livers; this resulted in equivalent hepatic BAs in WT and TG mice after BDL. Finally, we analyzed the effect of BDL on β-catenin activity and identified an increase in periportal cytoplasmic stabilization and association with T-cell factor 4 that correlated with increased expression of distinct downstream target genes. Conclusion: Localization of β-catenin and expression of Wnt-regulated genes were altered in liver after BDL; however, neither elimination of Wnt/β-catenin signaling nor overexpression of β-catenin in hepatocytes significantly impacted the phenotype or progression of BA-driven cholestatic injury.
Project description:The formation of a ?-catenin·TCF4 complex in the nucleus of cells is well known as a prerequisite for the transcription of Wnt target genes. Although many co-factors have been identified to regulate the activity of the ?-catenin·TCF4 complex, it remains unclear how the complex association is negatively regulated. In this study, we report that p15RS, a negative regulator of the cell cycle, blocks ?-catenin·TCF4 complex formation and inhibits Wnt signaling. We observed that p15RS interacts with ?-catenin and TCF4. Interestingly, whereas the interaction of p15RS with ?-catenin is increased, its interaction with TCF4 is decreased upon Wnt1 stimulation. Moreover, overexpression of p15RS reduces the interaction of ?-catenin with TCF4, whereas the depletion of p15RS enhances their interaction. We further demonstrate that overexpression of p15RS suppresses canonical Wnt signaling and results in retarded cell growth, whereas depletion of p15RS shows an enhanced effect on Wnt signaling. We analyzed that inhibition of Wnt signaling by p15RS leads to decreased expression of CYCLIN D1 and c-MYC, two Wnt targeted genes critical for cell growth. Our data suggest that p15RS inhibits Wnt signaling by interrupting ?-catenin·TCF4 complex formation and that Wnt signaling initiates downstream gene expression by removing p15RS from promoters.
Project description:Wingless is known to be required for induction of cardiac mesoderm in Drosophila, but the function of Wnt family proteins, vertebrate homologues of wingless, in cardiac myocytes remains unknown. When medium conditioned by HEK293 cells overexpressing Wnt-3a or -5a was applied to cultured neonatal cardiac myocytes, Wnt proteins induced myocyte aggregation in the presence of fibroblasts, concomitant with increases in beta-catenin and N-cadherin in the myocytes and with E- and M-cadherins in the fibroblasts. The aggregation was inhibited by anti-N-cadherin antibody and induced by constitutively active beta-catenin, but was unaffected by dominant negative and dominant positive T cell factor (TCF) mutants. Thus, increased stabilization of complexed cadherin-beta-catenin in both cell types appears crucial for the morphological effect of Wnt on cardiac myocytes. Furthermore, myocytes overexpressing a dominant negative frizzled-2, but not a dominant negative frizzled-4, failed to aggregate in response to Wnt, indicating frizzled-2 to be the predominant receptor mediating aggregation. By contrast, analysis of bromodeoxyuridine incorporation and transcription of various cardiogenetic markers showed Wnt to have little or no impact on cell proliferation or differentiation. These findings suggest that a Wnt-frizzled-2 signaling pathway is centrally involved in the morphological arrangement of cardiac myocytes in neonatal heart through stabilization of complexed cadherin- beta-catenin.
Project description:Wnt/?-catenin signaling is a branch of a functional network that dates back to the first metazoans and it is involved in a broad range of biological systems including stem cells, embryonic development and adult organs. Deregulation of components involved in Wnt/?-catenin signaling has been implicated in a wide spectrum of diseases including a number of cancers and degenerative diseases. The key mediator of Wnt signaling, ?-catenin, serves several cellular functions. It functions in a dynamic mode at multiple cellular locations, including the plasma membrane, where ?-catenin contributes to the stabilization of intercellular adhesive complexes, the cytoplasm where ?-catenin levels are regulated and the nucleus where ?-catenin is involved in transcriptional regulation and chromatin interactions. Central effectors of ?-catenin levels are a family of cysteine-rich secreted glycoproteins, known as Wnt morphogens. Through the LRP5/6-Frizzled receptor complex, Wnts regulate the location and activity of the destruction complex and consequently intracellular ?- catenin levels. However, ?-catenin levels and their effects on transcriptional programs are also influenced by multiple other factors including hypoxia, inflammation, hepatocyte growth factor-mediated signaling, and the cell adhesion molecule E-cadherin. The broad implications of Wnt/?-catenin signaling in development, in the adult body and in disease render the pathway a prime target for pharmacological research and development. The intricate regulation of ?-catenin at its various locations provides alternative points for therapeutic interventions.
Project description:The Wnt signal transduction pathway is dysregulated in many highly prevalent diseases, including cancer. Unfortunately, drug discovery efforts have been hampered by the paucity of targets and drug-like lead molecules amenable to drug discovery. Recently, we reported the FDA-approved anthelmintic drug Niclosamide inhibits Wnt/β-catenin signaling by a unique mechanism, though the target responsible remains unknown. We interrogated the mechanism and structure-activity relationships to understand drivers of potency and to assist target identification efforts. We found inhibition of Wnt signaling by Niclosamide appears unique among the structurally-related anthelmintic agents tested and found the potency and functional response was dependent on small changes in the chemical structure of Niclosamide. Overall, these findings support efforts to identify the target of Niclosamide inhibition of Wnt/β-catenin signaling and the discovery of potent and selective modulators to treat human disease.
Project description:Precise control of Wnt signaling is necessary for immune system development. In this study, we detected severely impaired development of all lymphoid lineages in mice, resulting from an N-ethyl-N-nitrosourea-induced mutation in the limb region 1-like gene (Lmbr1l), which encodes a membrane-spanning protein with no previously described function in immunity. The interaction of LMBR1L with glycoprotein 78 (GP78) and ubiquitin-associated domain-containing protein 2 (UBAC2) attenuated Wnt signaling in lymphocytes by preventing the maturation of FZD6 and LRP6 through ubiquitination within the endoplasmic reticulum and by stabilizing "destruction complex" proteins. LMBR1L-deficient T cells exhibited hallmarks of Wnt/β-catenin activation and underwent apoptotic cell death in response to proliferative stimuli. LMBR1L has an essential function during lymphopoiesis and lymphoid activation, acting as a negative regulator of the Wnt/β-catenin pathway.