Lecture 17 - Wnt Network Flashcards
Paracrine cell signalling
Cells that are near one another communicate through the release of chemical messengers (ligands that can diffuse through the space between the cells)
This type of signalling, in which cells communicate over relatively short distances, is known as paracrine signalling
Int experiments - Roel Nusse 1982
Retroviral insertion of wnt randomly into genome of mice
Leads to downstream gene activation
Identification of Int1 (insertion 1)
Proto oncogene
A normal gene that could become an oncogene due to mutations or increased expression
Proto-oncogenes code for proteins that help to regulate the cell growth and differentiation
Oncogene
A gene that has the potential to cause cancer
Wingless experiments - Volhard and Weischaus 1980
Knock out wing genes in fruit flies
Gene identified as ‘wingless’
Wingless and Int = orthologs
Wingless + Int
Wnt
The Wnt pathway summary
Wnt -> Dvl -> GSK3 -> b-catenin -> TCF
Wnt pathway functions
Embryogenesis (wing development in drosophila)
Disease (Oncogene in mice)
The Wnt/b-catenin pathway is
Highly conserved
Wnt regulates
Cell proliferation
Cell fate
Apoptosis
Wnt can influence the development of
An entire organism
mutations at certain stage of development can induce a second head in xenopus
Wnt ‘network’ in 2017
many pathways
Embryogenesis
Regeneration
Disease
Wnt embryogenesis
Body axis formation Patterning of nervous system (anterior posterior) Neural crest induction Hair follicle growth Limb polarity Muscle development
Wnt regeneration
Limb bud
Heart
Brain
Wnt diseases
Colon carcinoma Mamma carcinoma Melanoma Alzheimers Diabetes
3 pathways in the Wnt signalling network
- Planar cell polarity signalling (cell polarity and migration)
- b-catenin signalling (cell differentiation and proliferation)
- Wnt Calcium signalling (cell fate and migration)
Pathways interact
- Planar cell polarity pathway
Tells cells where to go
Uses Frizzled family GTpases
e.g. neural crest cells
Frizzled
A family of G protein-coupled receptor proteins that serves as receptors in the Wnt signaling pathway
When activated, Frizzled leads to activation of Dishevelled in the cytosol
Dishevelled
Dsh (Dvl in mammals) is a cytoplasmic phosphoprotein that acts directly downstream of frizzled receptors
It takes its name from its initial discovery in flies, where a mutation in the dishevelled gene was observed to cause improper orientation of body and wing hairs
Dishevelled plays important roles in both the embryo and the adult, ranging from cellular differentiation and cell polarity to social behavior
- b-catenin signalling pathway
Wnt molecule binds to a receptor
Deactivates a protein complex
b-catenin is translocated to the nucleus
Activates gene transcription
The 3 Wnt pathways
Interact with each other
Pathways 1 and 2 repress each other
Wnt ligand structure
350 a.a
22 cysteines (disulfide bridges important for form of protein)
Serine 187 (palmitoleic acid)
Asparagin 87 + 298 (glycosylation)
Wnt ligand numbers
19 ligands
10 Frizzled receptors
5 co receptors