Inactivation of the beta-catenin gene by Wnt1-Cre-mediated deletion results in dramatic brain malformation and failure of craniofacial development

beta-Catenin is a central component of both the cadherin-catenin cell adhesion complex and the Wnt signaling pathway. We have investigated the role of beta-catenin during brain morphogenesis, by specifically inactivating the beta-catenin gene in the region of Wnt1 expression. To achieve this, mice with a conditional ('floxed') allele of beta-catenin with required exons flanked by loxP recombination sequences were intercrossed with transgenic mice that expressed Cre recombinase under control of Wnt1 regulatory sequences. beta-Catenin gene deletion resulted in dramatic brain malformation and failure of craniofacial development. Absence of part of the midbrain and all of the cerebellum is reminiscent of the conventional Wnt1 knockout (Wnt1(-/-)), suggesting that Wnt1 acts through beta-catenin in controlling midbrain-hindbrain development. The craniofacial phenotype, not observed in embryos that lack Wnt1, indicates a role for beta-catenin in the fate of neural crest cells. Analysis of neural tube explants shows that (beta-catenin is efficiently deleted in migrating neural crest cell precursors. This, together with an increased apoptosis in cells migrating to the cranial ganglia and in areas of prechondrogenic condensations, suggests that removal of beta-catenin affects neural crest cell survival and/or differentiation. Our results demonstrate the pivotal role of beta-catenin in morphogenetic processes during brain and craniofacial development.     

Crystal structure of a full-length beta-catenin

beta-catenin plays essential roles in cell adhesion and Wnt signaling, while deregulation of beta-catenin is associated with multiple diseases including cancers. Here, we report the crystal structures of full-length zebrafish beta-catenin and a human beta-catenin fragment that contains both the armadillo repeat and the C-terminal domains. Our structures reveal that the N-terminal region of the C-terminal domain, a key component of the C-terminal transactivation domain, forms a long alpha helix that packs on the C-terminal end of the armadillo repeat domain, and thus forms part of the beta-catenin superhelical core. The existence of this helix redefines our view of interactions of beta-catenin with some of its critical partners, including ICAT and Chibby, which may form extensive interactions with this C-terminal domain alpha helix. Our crystallographic and NMR studies also suggest that the unstructured N-terminal and C-terminal tails interact with the ordered armadillo repeat domain in a dynamic and variable manner.     

Reiterated Wnt signaling during zebrafish neural crest development

While Wnt/beta-catenin signaling is known to be involved in the development of neural crest cells in zebrafish, it is unclear which Wnts are involved, and when they are required. To address these issues we employed a zebrafish line that was transgenic for an inducible inhibitor of Wnt/beta-catenin signaling, and inhibited endogenous Wnt/beta-catenin signaling at discrete times in development. Using this approach, we defined a critical period for Wnt signaling in the initial induction of neural crest, which is distinct from the later period of development when pigment cells are specified from neural crest. Blocking Wnt signaling during this early period interfered with neural crest formation without blocking development of dorsal spinal neurons. Transplantation experiments suggest that neural crest precursors must directly transduce a Wnt signal. With regard to identifying which endogenous Wnt is responsible for this initial critical period, we established that wnt8 is expressed in the appropriate time and place to participate in this process. Supporting a role for Wnt8, blocking its function with antisense morpholino oligonucleotides eliminates initial expression of neural crest markers. Taken together, these results demonstrate that Wnt signals are critical for the initial induction of zebrafish neural crest and suggest that this signaling pathway plays reiterated roles in its development.     

Death receptors DR6 and TROY regulate brain vascular development

Signaling events that regulate central nervous system (CNS) angiogenesis and blood-brain barrier (BBB) formation are only beginning to be elucidated. By evaluating the gene expression profile of mouse vasculature, we identified DR6/TNFRSF21 and TROY/TNFRSF19 as regulators of CNS-specific angiogenesis in both zebrafish and mice. Furthermore, these two death receptors interact both genetically and physically and are required for vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)-mediated JNK activation and subsequent human brain endothelial sprouting in vitro. Increasing beta-catenin levels in brain endothelium upregulate DR6 and TROY, indicating that these death receptors are downstream target genes of Wnt/beta-catenin signaling, which has been shown to be required for BBB development. These findings define a role for death receptors DR6 and TROY in CNS-specific vascular development.     

Wnt/beta-catenin signaling interacts differentially with Ihh signaling in controlling endochondral bone and synovial joint formation

Both the Wnt/beta-catenin and Ihh signaling pathways play essential roles in crucial aspects of endochondral ossification: osteoblast differentiation, chondrocyte proliferation and hypertrophy. To understand the genetic interaction between these two signaling pathways, we have inactivated the beta-catenin gene and upregulated Ihh signaling simultaneously in the same cells during endochondral skeletal development using beta-catenin and patched 1 floxed alleles. We uncovered previously unexpected roles of Ihh signaling in synovial joint formation and the essential function of Wnt/beta-catenin signaling in regulating chondrocyte survival. More importantly, we found that Wnt and Ihh signaling interact with each other in distinct ways to control osteoblast differentiation, chondrocyte proliferation, hypertrophy, survival and synovial joint formation in the developing endochondral bone. Beta-catenin is required downstream of Ihh signaling and osterix expression for osteoblast differentiation. But in chondrocyte survival, beta-catenin is required upstream of Ihh signaling to inhibit chondrocyte apoptosis. In addition, Ihh signaling can inhibit chondrocyte hypertrophy and synovial joint formation independently of beta-catenin. However, there is a strong synergistic interaction between Wnt/beta-catenin and Ihh signaling in regulating synovial joint formation.     

Cellular demise and inflammatory microglial activation during beta-amyloid toxicity are governed by Wnt1 and canonical signaling pathways

Initially described as a modulator of embryogenesis for a number of organ systems, Wnt1 has recently been linked to the development of several neurodegenerative disorders, none being of greater significance than Alzheimer's disease. We therefore examined the ability of Wnt1 to oversee vital pathways responsible for cell survival during beta-amyloid (Abeta1-42) exposure. Here we show that Wnt1 is critical for protection in the SH-SY5Y neuronal cell line against genomic DNA degradation, membrane phosphatidylserine (PS) exposure, and microglial activation, since these neuroprotective attributes of Wnt1 are lost during gene silencing of Wnt1 protein expression. Intimately tied to Wnt1 protection is the presence and activation of Akt1. Pharmacological inhibition of the PI 3-K pathway or gene silencing of Akt1 expression can abrogate the protective capacity of Wnt1. Closely aligned with Wnt1 and Akt1 are the integrated canonical pathways of synthase kinase-3beta (GSK-3beta) and beta-catenin. Through Akt1 dependent pathways, Wnt1 phosphorylates GSK-3beta and maintains beta-catenin integrity to insure its translocation from the cytoplasm to the nucleus to block apoptosis. Our work outlines a highly novel role for Wnt1 and its integration with Akt1, GSK-3beta, and beta-catenin to foster neuronal cell survival and repress inflammatory microglial activation that can identify new avenues of therapy against neurodegenerative disorders.     

Loss of ICAT gene function leads to arrest of ureteric bud branching and renal agenesis

ICAT, inhibitor of beta-catenin and T cell factor, or Ctnnbip1, is a negative regulator of the Wnt signaling pathway that interferes with the interaction between beta-catenin and T cell factor. Some ICAT-deficient (ICAT-/-) embryos exhibit unilateral or bilateral renal agenesis. In this study, we investigated developmental processes in the ICAT-/- kidney. ICAT was highly expressed in both the ureteric bud (UB) and the surrounding metanephric mesenchymal (MM) cells in the metanephros of embryonic day E11.5-E13.5 wild-type (ICAT+/+) mouse. In the E12.5-ICAT-/- metanephros, UB branching was delayed, and a T-shaped, bifurcated UB was frequently seen; this was never seen in the E12.5-ICAT+/+ metanephros. More apoptotic MM cells were detected in the ICAT-/- metanephros than in the ICAT+/+ metanephros. These results suggest that the loss of ICAT gene function causes the arrest of UB branching and the apoptotic death of MM cells, resulting in renal agenesis.     

The Wnt/beta-catenin pathway directs neuronal differentiation of cortical neural precursor cells

Neural precursor cells (NPCs) have the ability to self-renew and to give rise to neuronal and glial lineages. The fate decision of NPCs between proliferation and differentiation determines the number of differentiated cells and the size of each region of the brain. However, the signals that regulate the timing of neuronal differentiation remain unclear. Here, we show that Wnt signaling inhibits the self-renewal capacity of mouse cortical NPCs, and instructively promotes their neuronal differentiation. Overexpression of Wnt7a or of a stabilized form of beta-catenin in mouse cortical NPC cultures induced neuronal differentiation even in the presence of Fgf2, a self-renewal-promoting factor in this system. Moreover, blockade of Wnt signaling led to inhibition of neuronal differentiation of cortical NPCs in vitro and in the developing mouse neocortex. Furthermore, the beta-catenin/TCF complex appears to directly regulate the promoter of neurogenin 1, a gene implicated in cortical neuronal differentiation. Importantly, stabilized beta-catenin did not induce neuronal differentiation of cortical NPCs at earlier developmental stages, consistent with previous reports indicating self-renewal-promoting functions of Wnts in early NPCs. These findings may reveal broader and stage-specific physiological roles of Wnt signaling during neural development.     

Zebrafish Dapper1 and Dapper2 play distinct roles in Wnt-mediated developmental processes

Wnt signaling pathways in vertebrates use the phosphoprotein Dishevelled (Dvl). The cellular responses to Wnt signaling may in part be modulated by Dvl-associated proteins, including Dapper (Dpr). We have cloned and characterized the zebrafish Dpr paralogs Dpr1 and Dpr2. Loss-of-function studies reveal that endogenous Dpr1 but not Dpr2 is required to enhance Wnt/beta-catenin activity in zebrafish embryos that are hypomorphic for Wnt8. Conversely, Dpr2 but not Dpr1 is required for normal convergence extension movements in embryos that are hypomorphic for Stbm or Wnt11, supporting a functional interaction of Dpr2 with Wnt/Ca2+-PCP signaling. In gain-of-function experiments, Dpr1 but not Dpr2 induces Wnt/beta-catenin target genes. Dpr1 synergizes with zebrafish Dvl2, and with the Dvl-interacting kinases CK1epsilon, Par1 and CK2, in activating target genes. We conclude that two Dvl-associated paralogs, Dpr1 and Dpr2, participate in distinct Wnt-dependent developmental processes.     

Wnt/Axin1/beta-catenin signaling regulates asymmetric nodal activation, elaboration, and concordance of CNS asymmetries

Nodal activity in the left lateral plate mesoderm (LPM) is required to activate left-sided Nodal signaling in the epithalamic region of the zebrafish forebrain. Epithalamic Nodal signaling subsequently determines the laterality of neuroanatomical asymmetries. We show that overactivation of Wnt/Axin1/beta-catenin signaling during late gastrulation leads to bilateral epithalamic expression of Nodal pathway genes independently of LPM Nodal signaling. This is consistent with a model whereby epithalamic Nodal signaling is normally bilaterally repressed, with Nodal signaling from the LPM unilaterally alleviating repression. We suggest that Wnt signaling regulates the establishment of the bilateral repression. We identify a second role for the Wnt pathway in the left/right regulation of LPM Nodal pathway gene expression, and finally, we show that at later stages Axin1 is required for the elaboration of concordant neuroanatomical asymmetries.     

Regulation of hhex expression in the yolk syncytial layer, the potential Nieuwkoop center homolog in zebrafish

The Nieuwkoop center is the earliest signaling center during dorsal-ventral pattern formation in amphibian embryos and has been implied to function in induction of the Spemann-Mangold organizer. In zebrafish, Nieuwkoop-center-like activity resides in the dorsal yolk syncytial layer (YSL) at the interface of the vegetal yolk cell and the blastoderm. hex homologs are expressed in the anterior endomesoderm in frogs (Xhex), the anterior visceral endoderm in mice, and the dorsal YSL in zebrafish (hhex). Here, we investigate the control of hhex expression in the YSL. We demonstrate that bozozok (boz) is absolutely required for early hhex expression, while overexpression of boz causes ectopic hhex expression. Activation of Wnt/beta-catenin signaling by LiCl induces hhex expression in wild-type YSL but not in boz mutant embryos, revealing that boz activity is required downstream of Wnt/beta-catenin signaling for hhex expression. Further, we show that the boz-mediated induction of hhex is independent of the Boz-mediated repression of bmp2b. Our data reveal that repressive effects of both Vega1 and Vega2 may be responsible for the exclusion of hhex expression from the ventral and lateral parts of the YSL. In summary, zebrafish hhex appears to be activated by Wnt/beta-catenin in the dorsal YSL, where Boz acts in a permissive way to limit repression of hhex by Vega1 and Vega2.     

Zebrafish Naked1 and Naked2 antagonize both canonical and non-canonical Wnt signaling

Wnt signaling controls a wide range of developmental processes and its aberrant regulation can lead to disease. To better understand the regulation of this pathway, we identified zebrafish homologues of Naked Cuticle (Nkd), Nkd1 and Nkd2, which have previously been shown to inhibit canonical Wnt/beta-catenin signaling. Zebrafish nkd1 expression increases substantially after the mid-blastula transition in a pattern mirroring that of activated canonical Wnt/beta-catenin signaling, being expressed in both the ventrolateral blastoderm margin and also in the axial mesendoderm. In contrast, zebrafish nkd2 is maternally and ubiquitously expressed. Overexpression of Nkd1 or Nkd2a suppressed canonical Wnt/beta-catenin signaling at multiple stages of early zebrafish development and also exacerbated the cyclopia and axial mesendoderm convergence and extension (C&E) defect in the non-canonical Wnt/PCP mutant silberblick (slb/wnt11). Thus, Nkds are sufficient to antagonize both canonical and non-canonical Wnt signaling. Reducing Nkd function using antisense morpholino oligonucleotides resulted in increased expression of canonical Wnt/beta-catenin target genes. Finally, reducing Nkd1 function in slb mutants suppressed the axial mesendoderm C&E defect. These data indicate that zebrafish Nkd1 and Nkd2 function to limit both canonical and non-canonical Wnt signaling.     

Antagonistic regulation of convergent extension movements in Xenopus by Wnt/beta-catenin and Wnt/Ca2+ signaling

Convergent extension movements are the main driving force of Xenopus gastrulation. A fine-tuned regulation of cadherin-mediated cell-cell adhesion is thought to be required for this process. Members of the Wnt family of extracellular glycoproteins have been shown to modulate cadherin-mediated cell-cell adhesion, convergent extension movements, and cell differentiation. Here we show that endogenous Wnt/beta-catenin signaling activity is essential for convergent extension movements due to its effect on gene expression rather than on cadherins. Our data also suggest that XLEF-1 rather than XTCF-3 is required for convergent extension movements and that XLEF-1 functions in this context in the Wnt/beta-catenin pathway to regulate Xnr-3. In contrast, activation of the Wnt/Ca2+ pathway blocks convergent extension movements, with potential regulation of the Wnt/beta-catenin pathway at two different levels. PKC, activated by the Wnt/Ca2+ pathway, blocks the Wnt/beta-catenin pathway upstream of beta-catenin and phosphorylates Dishevelled. CamKII, also activated by the Wnt/Ca2+ pathway, inhibits the Wnt/beta-catenin signaling cascade downstream of beta-catenin. Thus, an opposing cross-talk of two distinct Wnt signaling cascades regulates convergent extension movements in Xenopus.