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Canonical Wnt Signaling Pathway02:54

Canonical Wnt Signaling Pathway

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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...
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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...
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Catenins01:23

Catenins

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Catenins are characterized by multiple binding domains and dynamic structures that allow them to function as linker proteins in cell junction complexes. All catenins, except α-catenin, contain a characteristic protein sequence called the armadillo repeat and are therefore also called armadillo proteins.
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Rapidly dividing tumors, embryos, and wounded tissues require more oxygen than usual, lowering the oxygen concentration in the blood. At low oxygen or hypoxic conditions, an oxygen-sensitive transcription factor called the hypoxia-inducible factor 1 or HIF1 is activated. HIF1 is a dimeric protein of alpha (ɑ) and beta (β) subunits.  Under optimal oxygen conditions, HIF1β is present in the nucleus while HIF1ɑ remains in the cytosol. HIF1ɑ is hydroxylated by prolyl...
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The Hedgehog gene (Hh) was first discovered due to its control of the growth of disorganized, hair-like bristles phenotype in Drosophila, much like hedgehog spines. Hh plays a crucial role in the development of organs and the maintenance of homeostasis in both invertebrates and vertebrates. However, while Drosophila has only one Hh protein, mammals have multiple functional Hedgehog proteins - Sonic (Shh), Desert (Dhh), and Indian Hedgehog (Ihh). All of these homologous proteins have adapted to...
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During embryogenesis, cells become progressively committed to different fates through a two-step process: specification followed by determination. Specification is demonstrated by removing a segment of an early embryo, “neutrally” culturing the tissue in vitro—for example, in a petri dish with simple medium—and then observing the derivatives. If the cultured region gives rise to cell types that it would normally generate in the embryo, this means that it is specified. In...
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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Dec 15, 2025

The Power of Simplicity: Sea Urchin Embryos as in Vivo Developmental Models for Studying Complex Cell-to-cell Signaling Network Interactions
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Foxh1/Nodal Defines Context-Specific Direct Maternal Wnt/β-Catenin Target Gene Regulation in Early Development.

Boni A Afouda1, Yukio Nakamura1, Sophie Shaw2

  • 1Institute of Medical Sciences, Foresterhill Health Campus, University of Aberdeen, ABERDEEN AB25 2ZD Scotland, UK.

Iscience
|July 11, 2020
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Wnt/β-catenin signaling regulation in early development is clarified. New findings reveal Foxh1 and Nodal/Tgfβ signaling are crucial for context-specific Wnt target gene expression during embryogenesis.

Keywords:
Biological SciencesDevelopmental BiologyMolecular Biology

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Area of Science:

  • Developmental Biology
  • Molecular Biology
  • Genetics

Background:

  • Wnt/β-catenin signaling is vital but its context-specific regulation of target genes in development and disease remains poorly understood.
  • Early embryogenesis offers a unique system to study direct Wnt target gene regulation due to the onset of zygotic transcription.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To identify stage-specific direct Wnt target genes in early embryogenesis.
  • To elucidate the regulatory mechanisms controlling context-specific Wnt target gene expression.

Main Methods:

  • Transcriptomics via RNA-sequencing (RNA-seq) to analyze gene expression.
  • Genome-wide β-catenin association mapping using ChIP-sequencing (ChIP-seq).

Main Results:

  • Identified two distinct classes of direct maternal Wnt target genes with differential expression and β-catenin association.
  • Discovered overlap between genomic β-catenin binding sites and Foxh1-associated regulatory sequences.
  • Demonstrated that Foxh1 function and Nodal/Tgfβ signaling are essential for direct maternal Wnt target gene expression.

Conclusions:

  • Proposed a model of coherent feedforward regulation for direct Wnt target genes.
  • Established context-specific mechanisms for Wnt target gene co-regulation.
  • Findings provide insights into embryonic development, stem cell biology, and human diseases.