Wnt, hedgehog and junctional armadillo/beta-catenin establish planar polarity in the Drosophila embryo Journal Article
| Authors: | Colosimo, P. F.; Tolwinski, N. S. |
| Article Title: | Wnt, hedgehog and junctional armadillo/beta-catenin establish planar polarity in the Drosophila embryo |
| Abstract: | To generate specialized structures, cells must obtain positional and directional information. In multi-cellular organisms, cells use the non-canonical Wnt or planar cell polarity (PCP) signaling pathway to establish directionality within a cell. In vertebrates, several Wnt molecules have been proposed as permissible polarity signals, but none has been shown to provide a directional cue. While PCP signaling components are conserved from human to fly, no PCP ligands have been reported in Drosophila. Here we report that in the epidermis of the Drosophila embryo two signaling molecules, Hedgehog (Hh) and Wingless (Wg or Wnt1), provide directional cues that induce the proper orientation of Actin-rich structures in the larval cuticle. We further find that proper polarity in the late embryo also involves the asymmetric distribution and phosphorylation of Armadillo (Arm or β-catenin) at the membrane and that interference with this Arm phosphorylation leads to polarity defects. Our results suggest new roles for Hh and Wg as instructive polarizing cues that help establish directionality within a cell sheet, and a new polarity-signaling role for the membrane fraction of the oncoprotein Arm. © 2006 Colosimo and Tolwinski. |
| Keywords: | signal transduction; controlled study; protein phosphorylation; oncoprotein; genetics; nonhuman; protein localization; phenotype; animal; metabolism; animals; actin; animal tissue; gene; epidermis; embryo; sonic hedgehog protein; hedgehog proteins; genotype; transcription factor; drosophila; morphogenesis; phosphorylation; transgenic animal; transcription factors; vertebrata; prenatal development; tissue distribution; nucleotide sequence; base sequence; cell polarity; drosophila melanogaster; dna primers; primer dna; beta catenin; wnt protein; erinaceidae; drosophila proteins; body patterning; genetic conservation; armadillo domain protein; armadillo domain proteins; wnt1 protein; armadillo; drosophila protein; larva; wg protein, drosophila; genes, insect; animals, genetically modified; armadillo protein, drosophila; hedgehog protein, drosophila; cuticle; embryo polarity |
| Journal Title: | PLoS ONE |
| Volume: | 1 |
| Issue: | 1 |
| ISSN: | 1932-6203 |
| Publisher: | Public Library of Science |
| Date Published: | 2006-12-01 |
| Start Page: | e9 |
| Language: | English |
| DOI: | 10.1371/journal.pone.0000009 |
| PUBMED: | 17183721 |
| PROVIDER: | scopus |
| PMCID: | PMC1762359 |
| DOI/URL: | |
| Notes: | --- - "Cited By (since 1996): 17" - "Export Date: 4 June 2012" - "Source: Scopus" |
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