Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jul 23, 2025

Studying Wnt Signaling During Patterning of Conducting Airways
13:00

Studying Wnt Signaling During Patterning of Conducting Airways

Published on: October 16, 2016

7.4K

Wnt/β-catenin signaling controls mouse eyelid growth by mediating epithelial-mesenchymal interactions

Xuming Zhu1, Makoto Senoo2, Sarah E Millar3

  • 1Key Laboratory for the Genetics of Developmental and Neuropsychiatric Disorders (Ministry of Education), Bio-X Institutes, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 200240, People's Republic of China; Black Family Stem Cell Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, 10029, USA; Institute for Regenerative Medicine, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, 10029, USA; Department of Cell, Developmental and Regenerative Biology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, 10029, USA.

The Ocular Surface
|July 15, 2023
PubMed
Abstract

Insights

Wnt/β-catenin signaling is crucial for mouse eyelid development. Disrupting this pathway, via Wnt ligands or β-catenin, halts eyelid growth and impacts proliferation.

Area of Science:

  • Developmental biology
  • Molecular signaling pathways

Background:

  • Wnt/β-catenin signaling is a conserved pathway regulating cell proliferation, differentiation, and tissue patterning.
  • Its precise role in mouse eyelid morphogenesis remains incompletely understood.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To elucidate the function of Wnt/β-catenin signaling in mouse eyelid development.
  • To investigate the interplay between epithelial Wnt ligands, mesenchymal Wnt/β-catenin activation, and p63 in eyelid formation.

Main Methods:

  • Genetic manipulation of Wnt/β-catenin pathway components (β-catenin, Wls) in specific embryonic tissues.
  • Conditional knockout of p63 to assess its regulatory role.
  • Analysis of eyelid morphology, cell proliferation (immunofluorescence), apoptosis (TUNEL assay), and gene expression (in situ hybridization).

Main Results:

  • Mesenchymal β-catenin deletion abrogated eyelid growth, reducing proliferation in adjacent epithelium and mesenchyme.
  • Epithelial Wls deletion led to failed eyelid development, mirroring the effects of mesenchymal β-catenin loss.
  • p63 knockout resulted in hypoplastic eyelids and diminished Wnt ligand expression in the epithelium.

Conclusions:

  • Epithelial Wnt ligands are essential for activating mesenchymal Wnt/β-catenin signaling, which drives eyelid growth.
  • p63 partially regulates the expression of these critical Wnt ligands.
  • This study highlights a key signaling axis controlling mammalian eyelid development.
Keywords:
Epithelial-mesenchymal interactionsEyelid developmentFgf10ProliferationSignaling pathwayWlsWntp63β-catenin

More Related Videos

Induction and Analysis of Epithelial to Mesenchymal Transition10:37

Induction and Analysis of Epithelial to Mesenchymal Transition

Published on: August 27, 2013

35.8K
Modeling Paracrine Noncanonical Wnt Signaling In Vitro11:14

Modeling Paracrine Noncanonical Wnt Signaling In Vitro

Published on: December 10, 2021

1.6K

Related Concept Videos

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...
7.3K
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...
8.8K
Catenins01:23

Catenins

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.
Catenins in Cell Junctions
Catenins bind to cell adhesion molecules such as cadherins and link them to different cytoskeletal proteins depending on the type of cell junction. At the...
2.3K
Cadherins in Tissue Organization01:19

Cadherins in Tissue Organization

The cadherins are a superfamily of cell adhesion molecules comprising over 180 variants, with specific tissues expressing a particular combination of cadherin types. Cadherins generally exhibit homophilic binding; i.e., cadherins on one cell bind to cadherins of the same or closely related type on another cell. Thus, cells of the same type have a specific affinity to bind to each other and sort themselves into clusters to form tissues.
Cell Sorting During Development
Cell sorting plays an...
3.0K
Role of Ephrin-Eph Signalling in Intestinal Stem Cell Renewal01:22

Role of Ephrin-Eph Signalling in Intestinal Stem Cell Renewal

Erythropoietin-producing hepatocellular carcinoma receptor (Eph) and its ligand, Eph receptor-interacting protein (Ephrin) were first discovered in the human carcinoma cell line, hence the name. Ephrin-Eph interaction guides cells to reach their appropriate location in adult tissues. They also play an essential role in the immune system by helping in immune cell migration, adhesion, and activation. Based on their structure and function, Eph is divided into two classes — EphA and EphB.
2.3K
Role Of Notch Signalling In Intestinal Stem Cell Renewal01:12

Role 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...
2.1K