A C-terminally truncated form of β-catenin acts as a novel regulator of Wnt/β-catenin signaling in planarians.

ABSTRACT: β-Catenin, the core element of the Wnt/β-catenin pathway, is a multifunctional and evolutionarily conserved protein which performs essential roles in a variety of developmental and homeostatic processes. Despite its crucial roles, the mechanisms that control its context-specific functions in time and space remain largely unknown. The Wnt/β-catenin pathway has been extensively studied in planarians, flatworms with the ability to regenerate and remodel the whole body, providing a 'whole animal' developmental framework to approach this question. Here we identify a C-terminally truncated β-catenin (β-catenin4), generated by gene duplication, that is required for planarian photoreceptor cell specification. Our results indicate that the role of β-catenin4 is to modulate the activity of β-catenin

SUBMITTER: Su H 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5643146 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature