Work

Coactivation of Rac and Rho by Wnt/Frizzled signaling is required for vertebrate gastrulation

Year: 2003

Type: preprint

Abstract: Wnt/Frizzled (Fz) signaling controls cell polarity/movements during vertebrate gastrulation via incompletely defined mechanisms. We demonstrated previously that Wnt/Fz activation of Rho, a GTPase and regulator of cytoskeletal architecture, is essential for vertebrate gastrulation. Here we report that in mammalian cells and Xenopus embryos, Wnt/Fz signaling coactivates Rho and Rac, another GTPase and distinct regulator of cytoskeletal architecture. Wnt/Fz activation of Rac is independent of Rho and mediates Wnt/Fz activation of Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK). Dishevelled (Dvl), a cytoplasmic protein downstream of Fz, forms a Wnt-induced complex with Rac independent of the Wnt-induced Dvl-Rho complex. Depletion or inhibition of Rac function perturbs Xenopus gastrulation without affecting Wnt/Fz activation of the Rho or beta-catenin pathway. We propose that parallel activation of Rac and Rho pathways by Wnt/Fz signaling is required for cell polarity and movements during vertebrate gastrulation.

Source: Genes & Development

DOI: 10.1101/gad.1022203

Authors: Raymond Habas, Igor B. Dawid, Xi He

Institutions: National Institutes of Health, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, Harvard University, Boston Children's Hospital

Language: English

Topic: Wnt/β-catenin signaling in development and cancer

Subfield: Molecular Biology

Field: Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology

Domain: Life Sciences

Open Access status: bronze

Funders: U.S. Department of Defense, W. M. Keck Foundation, National Institutes of Health, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke

Award: Developmental Neurology