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Updated: Feb 12, 2026

Evaluation of Planar-Cell-Polarity Phenotypes in Ciliopathy Mouse Mutant Cochlea
Published on: February 21, 2016
Coordinated directional outgrowth and pattern formation by integration of Wnt5a and Fgf signaling in planar cell
Bo Gao1,2, Rieko Ajima3, Wei Yang4
1School of Biomedical Sciences, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong, China gaobo@hku.hk yingzi_yang@hsdm.harvard.edu.
Abstract:
Embryonic morphogenesis of a complex organism requires proper regulation of patterning and directional growth. Planar cell polarity (PCP) signaling is emerging as a crucial evolutionarily conserved mechanism whereby directional information is conveyed. PCP is thought to be established by global cues, and recent studies have revealed an instructive role of a Wnt signaling gradient in epithelial tissues of both invertebrates and vertebrates. However, it remains unclear whether Wnt/PCP signaling is regulated in a coordinated manner with embryonic patterning during morphogenesis. Here, in mouse developing limbs, we find that apical ectoderm ridge-derived Fgfs required for limb patterning regulate PCP along the proximal-distal axis in a Wnt5a-dependent manner. We demonstrate with genetic evidence that the Wnt5a gradient acts as a global cue that is instructive in establishing PCP in the limb mesenchyme, and that Wnt5a also plays a permissive role to allow Fgf signaling to orient PCP. Our results indicate that limb morphogenesis is regulated by coordination of directional growth and patterning through integration of Wnt5a and Fgf signaling.
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