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Updated: Jan 28, 2026

Visualization of Endoplasmic Reticulum Subdomains in Cultured Cells
Published on: February 18, 2014
Wnt traffic from endoplasmic reticulum to filopodia
Naushad Moti1, Jia Yu1, Gaelle Boncompain2
1Program in Cancer and Stem Cell Biology, Duke-NUS Medical School, Singapore.
Abstract:
Wnts are a family of secreted palmitoleated glycoproteins that play key roles in cell to cell communication during development and regulate stem cell compartments in adults. Wnt receptors, downstream signaling cascades and target pathways have been extensively studied while less is known about how Wnts are secreted and move from producing cells to receiving cells. We used the synchronization system called Retention Using Selective Hook (RUSH) to study Wnt trafficking from endoplasmic reticulum to Golgi and then to plasma membrane and filopodia in real time. Inhibition of porcupine (PORCN) or knockout of Wntless (WLS) blocked Wnt exit from the ER. Wnt-containing vesicles paused at sub-cortical regions of the plasma membrane before exiting the cell. Wnt-containing vesicles were associated with filopodia extending to adjacent cells. These data visualize and confirm the role of WLS and PORCN in ER exit of Wnts and support the role of filopodia in Wnt signaling.
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