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Updated: Jun 1, 2026

Using Confocal Analysis of Xenopus laevis to Investigate Modulators of Wnt and Shh Morphogen Gradients
Published on: December 14, 2015
Notch destabilises maternal beta-catenin and restricts dorsal-anterior development in Xenopus
Helena Acosta1, Silvia L López, Diego R Revinski
1Laboratorio de Embriología Molecular, Instituto de Biología Celular y Neurociencias, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Paraguay 2155, piso 3, 1121 Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Abstract:
The blastula chordin- and noggin-expressing centre (BCNE) is the predecessor of the Spemann-Mangold's organiser and also contains the precursors of the brain. This signalling centre comprises animal-dorsal and marginal-dorsal cells and appears as a consequence of the nuclear accumulation of β-catenin on the dorsal side. Here, we propose a role for Notch that was not previously explored during early development in vertebrates. Notch initially destabilises β-catenin in a process that does not depend on its phosphorylation by GSK3. This is important to restrict the BCNE to its normal extent and to control the size of the brain.
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