Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 14, 2026
13:00
Studying Wnt Signaling During Patterning of Conducting Airways
Published on: October 16, 2016
Wnt-dependent epithelial transitions drive pharyngeal pouch formation
Chong Pyo Choe1, Andres Collazo, Le A Trinh
1Broad California Institute of Regenerative Medicine Center, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90033, USA.
Developmental Cell
|February 5, 2013
Summary
Wnt signaling orchestrates zebrafish pharyngeal pouch formation. Wnt11r and Wnt4a control epithelial transitions, enabling facial segmentation during development.
Area of Science:
- Developmental biology
- Molecular biology
- Genetics
Background:
- Pharyngeal pouches are crucial for vertebrate facial segmentation.
- The cellular mechanisms driving pouch budding remain unclear.
Purpose of the Study:
- To elucidate the roles of Wnt signaling in segmental pharyngeal pouch formation in zebrafish.
- To identify the molecular players and cellular events involved in endodermal epithelial transitions during pouch development.
Main Methods:
- Time-lapse microscopy in zebrafish.
- Mutant and tissue-specific transgenic zebrafish experiments.
- Analysis of Wnt signaling pathways and associated proteins (Rac1, Cdc42, Alcama).
Main Results:
- Wnt11r and Rac1 destabilize endodermal epithelium for cell migration.
- Wnt4a and Cdc42 promote cell rearrangement into bilayers via Alcama.
- Distinct Wnt signals regulate sequential epithelial transitions in pouch development.
Conclusions:
- Wnt11r and Wnt4a play distinct, sequential roles in zebrafish pharyngeal pouch formation.
- Dynamic epithelial remodeling controlled by Wnt signaling is key for organogenesis.
Related Concept Videos
01:41Non-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...
02:54Canonical 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...
01:56Gastrulation
Gastrulation establishes the three primary tissues of an embryo: the ectoderm, mesoderm, and endoderm. This developmental process relies on a series of intricate cellular movements, which in humans transforms a flat, “bilaminar disc” composed of two cell sheets into a three-tiered structure. In the resulting embryo, the endoderm serves as the bottom layer, and stacked directly above it is the intermediate mesoderm, and then the uppermost ectoderm. Respectively, these tissue strata will form...
01:12Role Of Notch Signalling In Intestinal Stem Cell Renewal
Notch signaling was first discovered in Drosophila melanogaster, where it is involved in cell lineage differentiation. Notch signaling regulates the maintenance and differentiation of intestinal stem cells or ISCs by controlling the expression of atonal homolog 1 or Atoh1. Atoh1 directs cells to differentiate into secretory cells.
Direct cell-to-cell contact is needed for the activation of Notch signaling. The signal is initiated when a notch ligand binds to a receptor on an adjacent cell, also...
Direct cell-to-cell contact is needed for the activation of Notch signaling. The signal is initiated when a notch ligand binds to a receptor on an adjacent cell, also...
01:15Development of the Sexual Organs in the Embryo and Fetus
Development of the reproductive organs in an embryo starts from a bipotential state. This means the early embryo can develop either male or female reproductive organs. The formation of these organs begins with the growth of gonadal ridges that arise from the intermediate mesoderm during the fifth week of development.
Near the gonadal ridges, two duct systems are present: the mesonephric ducts (Wolffian ducts) and paramesonephric ducts (Müllerian ducts). These ducts form the basis for the male...
Near the gonadal ridges, two duct systems are present: the mesonephric ducts (Wolffian ducts) and paramesonephric ducts (Müllerian ducts). These ducts form the basis for the male...
01:31Mechanism of Lamellipodia Formation
Cells migrating in response to external stimuli form lamellipodia, which are thin membrane protrusions supported by a mesh of linked, branched, or unbranched actin filaments. These actin filaments interact with myosin motor proteins, creating the dynamic actomyosin complex within the cytoskeleton. Contractility, or the ability to generate contractile stress, is inherent to the actomyosin complex. It helps cells detect the stiffness of the surrounding ECM and exert contractile force for...