First published online May 28, 2004
Development 131, 1203e (2004)
© The Company of Biologists Limited
Wnt LRP co-receptors: team tactics at gastrulation
Intercellular Wnt signalling is required for many patterning processes in
vertebrate development. Kelly and colleagues now report that the Wnt
co-receptors Lrp5 and Lrp6 - members of the LDL receptor-related family -
transduce the Wnt signals that drive posterior patterning during mouse
gastrulation (see p.
2803). The researchers show that Lrp5/6
double-mutant embryos fail to establish a primitive streak at gastrulation but
establish anterior patterning correctly, a phenotype also seen in
Wnt3 mutant embryos. The phenotypes of embryos carrying various
combinations of wild-type and mutated Lrp5 and Lrp6 genes
indicate that the co-receptors function redundantly. Finally, the phenotype of
Lrp5+/-;Lrp6-/- embryos - mesodermal defects
that closely resemble those seen in Fgf8 and Fgfr1 mutant
embryos, and altered anterior patterning that correlates with increased
Nodal expression - indicates that Wnt, Fgf and Nodal signals interact
to pattern the early mouse embryo.
Related articles in Development:
- The Wnt co-receptors Lrp5 and Lrp6 are essential for gastrulation in mice
- Olivia G. Kelly, Kathy I. Pinson, and William C. Skarnes
Development 2004 131: 2803-2815.
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
