Light-activated Frizzled7 reveals a permissive role of non-canonical wnt signaling in mesendoderm cell migration.

ABSTRACT: Non-canonical Wnt signaling plays a central role for coordinated cell polarization and directed migration in metazoan development. While spatiotemporally restricted activation of non-canonical Wnt-signaling drives cell polarization in epithelial tissues, it remains unclear whether such instructive activity is also critical for directed mesenchymal cell migration. Here, we developed a light-activated version of the non-canonical Wnt receptor Frizzled 7 (Fz7) to analyze how restricted activation of non-canonical Wnt signaling affects directed anterior axial mesendoderm (prechordal plate, ppl) cell migration within the zebrafish gastrula. We found that Fz7 signaling is required for ppl cell protrusion formation and migration and that spatiotemporally restricted ectopic activation is capable o

SUBMITTER: Capek D 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6365057 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature