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beta-catenin signaling can initiate feather bud development
S Noramly1, A Freeman, B A Morgan
1Cutaneous Biology Research Center, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA 02129, USA.
Development (Cambridge, England)
|July 20, 1999
Summary
Activation of the beta-catenin pathway initiates feather follicle development in embryonic skin. This signaling is crucial for normal feather bud morphogenesis and spacing, with ectopic activation causing abnormal growths.
Area of Science:
- Developmental biology
- Cell signaling
Background:
- Intercellular Wnt signaling involves beta-catenin stabilization and nuclear translocation.
- This pathway is dynamically active during early chick skin development and feather bud formation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the role of beta-catenin signaling in initiating and regulating feather bud development.
- To determine if beta-catenin pathway activation is sufficient for feather bud formation and its role in morphogenesis.
Main Methods:
- Immunolocalization of beta-catenin in developing chick skin.
- Forced expression of stabilized beta-catenin in embryonic chick ectoderm.
- Analysis of feather bud formation, spacing, and morphogenesis under experimental conditions.
Main Results:
- Beta-catenin pathway activation is dynamically patterned during feather bud development.
- Forced beta-catenin stabilization in ectoderm induces ectopic feather buds, even in featherless regions.
- The pathway is insensitive to normal lateral inhibition spacing mechanisms.
- Localized activation is required for normal morphogenesis; ectopic activation leads to abnormal feather structures.
Conclusions:
- Beta-catenin pathway activation initiates embryonic feather follicle development.
- This pathway plays critical roles in feather bud morphogenesis and is influenced by other patterning signals.