Wnt proteins can direct planar cell polarity in vertebrate ectoderm

The coordinated orientation of cells across the tissue plane, known as planar cell polarity (PCP), is manifested by the segregation of core PCP proteins to different sides of the cell. Secreted Wnt ligands are involved in many PCP-dependent processes, yet whether they act as polarity cues has been c...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:eLife 2016-09, Vol.5
Main Authors: Chu, Chih-Wen, Sokol, Sergei Y
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Analysis
Animals
Antagonists
Biological research
Cell Biology
Cell Polarity
Cell regulation
Cloning
Developmental Biology and Stem Cells
Drosophila
Ectoderm
Ectoderm - physiology
Embryos
Gastrulation
Immunoglobulins
Insects
Ligands
Localization
Neuroectoderm
PCP
Polarity
Polarity (Biology)
Prickle
Proteins
Short Report
skin
Vangl2
Wnt
Wnt protein
Wnt Proteins - metabolism
Xenopus
Xenopus - embryology
Xenopus Proteins - metabolism
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:The coordinated orientation of cells across the tissue plane, known as planar cell polarity (PCP), is manifested by the segregation of core PCP proteins to different sides of the cell. Secreted Wnt ligands are involved in many PCP-dependent processes, yet whether they act as polarity cues has been controversial. We show that in early ectoderm, the Prickle3/Vangl2 complex was polarized to anterior cell edges and this polarity was disrupted by several Wnt antagonists. In midgastrula embryos, Wnt5a, Wnt11, and Wnt11b, but not Wnt3a, acted across many cell diameters to orient Prickle3/Vangl2 complexes away from their sources regardless of their positions relative to the body axis. The planar polarity of endogenous Vangl2 in the neuroectoderm was similarly redirected by an ectopic Wnt source and disrupted after depletion of Wnt11b in the presumptive posterior region of the embryo. These observations provide evidence for the instructive role of Wnt ligands in vertebrate PCP.
ISSN:2050-084X
2050-084X
DOI:10.7554/elife.16463