Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jan 27, 2026

Transfection of Mouse Retinal Ganglion Cells by in vivo Electroporation
05:26

Transfection of Mouse Retinal Ganglion Cells by in vivo Electroporation

Published on: April 17, 2011

16.0K

Wnt signaling induces neurite outgrowth in mouse retinal ganglion cells

Adanna Udeh1, Galina Dvoriantchikova1, Tal Carmy1

  • 1Bascom Palmer Eye Institute, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL, 33136, USA.

Experimental Eye Research
|March 19, 2019
PubMed

Insights

Wingless-type (Wnt) signaling promotes nerve regeneration. Wnt3a directly stimulates retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) to grow more neurites, with Rip kinase signaling influencing neurite number.

Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Molecular Biology
  • Developmental Biology

Background:

  • Wingless-type (Wnt) signaling pathways are crucial for axonal development in the central nervous system.
  • Canonical Wnt/β-catenin signaling promotes axonal regeneration in adult optic nerves after injury.
  • The precise molecular mechanisms and cellular targets of Wnt-mediated axonal growth remain unclear.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the cellular mechanisms and target cells of Wnt3a-stimulated neurite growth.
  • To explore the role of candidate mediator genes in Wnt3a-induced axonal growth.
  • To elucidate the involvement of Rip kinases in Wnt-mediated neurite formation.

Main Methods:

  • Primary retinal ganglion cell (RGC) cultures were utilized to study Wnt3a effects.
  • Quantitative PCR (QPCR) was performed to analyze gene expression of candidate mediators.
  • Pharmacological inhibition of Ripk1 signaling using Necrostatin-1s was employed.

Main Results:

  • Wnt3a ligand significantly increased average neurite length and the number of neurites in RGCs in a dose-dependent manner.
  • Wnt3a-dependent neurite growth correlated with decreased expression of Ripk1 and Ripk3 genes.
  • Inhibition of Ripk1 signaling increased neurite number but did not affect neurite length, suggesting Rip signaling modulates neurite number but not length.

Conclusions:

  • Retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) are direct cellular targets of Wnt3a-induced axonal growth.
  • Wnt signaling is associated with Rip kinases in the context of neurite formation.
  • Rip kinase signaling may mediate Wnt3a's effects on neurite number, but not neurite length.
Keywords:
AxonNeurite growthRetinaRetinal ganglion cellRipk1Wnt signaling

More Related Videos

A Co-Culture Method to Study Neurite Outgrowth in Response to Dental Pulp Paracrine Signals08:06

A Co-Culture Method to Study Neurite Outgrowth in Response to Dental Pulp Paracrine Signals

Published on: February 14, 2020

6.5K
Author Spotlight: Efficient Retinal Ganglion Cell Counting in Mouse Models of Glaucoma for Treatment Evaluation05:52

Author Spotlight: Efficient Retinal Ganglion Cell Counting in Mouse Models of Glaucoma for Treatment Evaluation

Published on: October 4, 2024

1.8K

Related Concept Videos

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...
10.6K
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...
8.4K
What is Cell Signaling?02:03

What is Cell Signaling?

Despite the protective membrane that separates a cell from the environment, cells need the ability to detect and respond to environmental changes. Additionally, cells often need to communicate with one another. Unicellular and multicellular organisms use a variety of cell signaling mechanisms to communicate to respond to the environment.
130.3K
Cell-surface Signaling01:21

Cell-surface Signaling

Hormones—or any molecule that binds to a receptor, known as a ligand—that are lipid-insoluble (water-soluble) are not able to diffuse across the cell membrane. In order to be able to affect a cell without entering it, these hormones bind to receptors on the cell membrane. When a first messenger, a hormone, binds to a receptor, a signal cascade is set off, causing second messengers, proteins inside the cell, to become activated, resulting in downstream effects.
54.2K
Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells01:13

Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells

Stem cells are undifferentiated cells that divide and produce different types of cells. Ordinarily, cells that have differentiated into a specific cell type are post-mitotic—that is, they no longer divide. However, scientists have found a way to reprogram these mature cells so that they “de-differentiate” and return to an unspecialized, proliferative state. These cells are also pluripotent like embryonic stem cells—able to produce all cell types—and are therefore...
28.0K
Bacterial Signaling01:30

Bacterial Signaling

Bacterial signaling can occur within bacteria (intracellular) or between bacteria (intercellular). At times, a group of bacteria behaves like a community. To achieve this, they engage in quorum sensing, the perception of higher cell density that causes changes in gene expression. Quorum sensing involves both extracellular and intracellular signaling. The signaling cascade starts with a molecule called an autoinducer (AI). Individual bacteria produce AIs that move out of the bacterial cell...
40.6K