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Related Concept Videos

Non-Canonical Wnt Signaling Pathways01:41

Non-Canonical Wnt Signaling Pathways

Wnt is a zygotic effect gene that is expressed during very early embryonic development. It regulates various processes in animals starting from early development through the adult stage, such as organogenesis in the embryo and maintenance of neuronal and blood stem cells. Wnt proteins can induce a wide variety of intracellular pathways depending upon the specific abilities of different Wnt ligands to form a complex with shared and cognate receptors in the presence of different co-receptors. The...
Notch Signaling Pathway03:14

Notch Signaling Pathway

The Notch signaling pathway is a major intracellular signaling pathway that is highly conserved over a broad spectrum of metazoan species. It stands unique from other intracellular signaling mechanisms in animals because notch protein itself acts as the receptor as well as the primary signaling molecule.
The Notch gene came into the limelight in 1914 after the discovery that its mutation in Drosophila melanogaster leads to a serrated (or "notched") wing margin phenotype. It was not until 1985...
Feedback Regulation of Calcium Concentration01:27

Feedback Regulation of Calcium Concentration

Calcium is an essential signaling molecule required for various cellular functions. Calcium pumps and ion channels on cell and organellar membranes, such as those on the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), regulate calcium concentrations inside the cell. They remain closed, keeping the cytosolic calcium levels low at a resting state.
Various transmembrane receptors, such as G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs), elicit a response to extracellular signals by increasing cytosolic calcium. Activated GPCRs...
Canonical Wnt Signaling Pathway02:54

Canonical Wnt Signaling Pathway

The gene encoding the main signaling molecules of the Wnt signaling pathways (the Wnt proteins) was discovered almost four decades ago by Nüsslein-Volhard and Wieschaus. They identified and originally named the gene "wingless" (wg) after a phenotype discovered during their landmark genetic screen in Drosophila for body pattern defects. At around the same time, another researcher named Harold Varmus found that a murine tumor virus activates the mammalian wg homolog, Int-1, which results in tumor...
Canonical Wnt Signaling Pathway02:54

Canonical Wnt Signaling Pathway

The gene encoding the main signaling molecules of the Wnt signaling pathways (the Wnt proteins) was discovered almost four decades ago by Nüsslein-Volhard and Wieschaus. They identified and originally named the gene "wingless" (wg) after a phenotype discovered during their landmark genetic screen in Drosophila for body pattern defects. At around the same time, another researcher named Harold Varmus found that a murine tumor virus activates the mammalian wg homolog, Int-1, which results in tumor...
Determination01:51

Determination

During embryogenesis, cells become progressively committed to different fates through a two-step process: specification followed by determination. Specification is demonstrated by removing a segment of an early embryo, “neutrally” culturing the tissue in vitro—for example, in a petri dish with simple medium—and then observing the derivatives. If the cultured region gives rise to cell types that it would normally generate in the embryo, this means that it is specified. In contrast, determination...

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 4, 2026

Fluorescent Calcium Imaging and Subsequent In Situ Hybridization for Neuronal Precursor Characterization in Xenopus laevis
09:07

Fluorescent Calcium Imaging and Subsequent In Situ Hybridization for Neuronal Precursor Characterization in Xenopus laevis

Published on: February 18, 2020

Calcium/NFAT signalling promotes early nephrogenesis.

S F Burn1, A Webb, R L Berry

  • 1MRC Human Genetics Unit, Institute of Genetics & Molecular Medicine, Western General Hospital, Crewe Road, Edinburgh EH4 2XU, UK. sb3158@columbia.edu

Developmental Biology
|February 8, 2011
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Canonical Wnt signaling is not active in early kidney development. Instead, the non-canonical Calcium/NFAT pathway is crucial for nephrogenesis, potentially acting downstream of Wnt4.

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Immunostaining Phospho-epitopes in Ciliated Organs of Whole Mount Zebrafish Embryos
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Immunostaining Phospho-epitopes in Ciliated Organs of Whole Mount Zebrafish Embryos

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Last Updated: Jun 4, 2026

Fluorescent Calcium Imaging and Subsequent In Situ Hybridization for Neuronal Precursor Characterization in Xenopus laevis
09:07

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Published on: February 18, 2020

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Immunostaining Phospho-epitopes in Ciliated Organs of Whole Mount Zebrafish Embryos

Published on: February 19, 2016

Area of Science:

  • Developmental Biology
  • Molecular Biology
  • Genetics

Background:

  • Wnt genes are essential for early kidney development.
  • Canonical β-catenin signaling is typically assumed to mediate Wnt gene function.
  • The role of non-canonical Wnt signaling in nephrogenesis remains less understood.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the role of canonical versus non-canonical Wnt signaling in early kidney development.
  • To identify the specific Wnt signaling pathway active during nephrogenesis.
  • To explore the involvement of the Calcium/NFAT pathway in renal development.

Main Methods:

  • Analysis of Wnt gene expression during murine kidney morphogenesis.
  • Immunolocalization of NFATc3 in developing nephrons.
  • Functional studies using Cyclosporin A (CSA) and Ionomycin on kidney rudiments.
  • Phenotypic analysis of Wnt4(-/-) embryos and kidneys.

Main Results:

  • Canonical Wnt signaling was found to be inactive in the early nephrogenic metanephric mesenchyme.
  • Members of the Nuclear Factor Activated in T cells (NFAT) transcription factor family are expressed during kidney morphogenesis.
  • NFATc3 localizes to developing nephrons.
  • Inhibition of Calcium/NFAT signaling with CSA decreased nephron formation.
  • Activation of the Calcium/NFAT pathway with Ionomycin partially rescued the phenotype in Wnt4(-/-) kidneys.

Conclusions:

  • The non-canonical Calcium/NFAT Wnt signaling pathway is active and plays a significant role in early mammalian renal development.
  • This pathway is essential for complete mesenchymal-epithelial transition (MET) during nephrogenesis.
  • The Calcium/NFAT pathway may function downstream of Wnt4 in the nephrogenesis process.