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The Power of Simplicity: Sea Urchin Embryos as in Vivo Developmental Models for Studying Complex Cell-to-cell Signaling Network Interactions
Published on: February 16, 2017
Wnt/beta-catenin signaling and body plan formation in mouse embryos
1Department of Anatomy, Biochemistry and Physiology, Institute for Biogenesis Research, University of Hawaii John A. Burns School of Medicine, 651 Ilalo Street, Honolulu, 96813, USA. marikawa@hawaii.edu
Abstract:
Wnt/beta-catenin signaling plays fundamental roles in body patterning in many invertebrate and vertebrate species, by acting as a key regulator of germ layer and body axis specification. This article focuses on the roles of Wnt/beta-catenin signaling in mouse early embryos, which exhibit a unique mode of development compared to non-mammalian vertebrates. Current experimental evidence suggests that Wnt/beta-catenin signaling is not essential for patterning embryos before implantation. However, Wnt/beta-catenin signaling regulates critical developmental events after implantation, namely the patterning of visceral endoderm, the induction of primitive streak, and the formation of anterior neural ectoderm. While Wnt/beta-catenin signaling regulates the body axis formation in both mouse and frog, the mode of its action is significantly diverged between these two vertebrate species.
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