Wnt signaling regulates left-right axis formation in the node of mouse embryos

Keiko Kitajima, Shinya Oki, Yasuyuki Ohkawa, Tomoyuki Sumi, Chikara Meno

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

26 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

The node triggers formation of the left-right axis in mouse embryos by establishing local asymmetry of Nodal and Cerl2 expression. We found that Wnt3 is expressed in perinodal crown cells preferentially on the left side. The enhancer responsible for Wnt3 expression was identified and found to be regulated by Foxa2 and Rbpj under the control of Notch signaling. Rbpj binding sites suppress enhancer activity in pit cells of the node, thereby ensuring crown cell-specific expression. In addition, we found that the expression of Gdf1 and Cerl2 is also regulated by Notch signaling, suggesting that such signaling may induce the expression of genes related to left-right asymmetry as a set. Furthermore, Cerl2 expression became symmetric in response to inhibition of Wnt-β-catenin signaling. Our results suggest that Wnt signaling regulates the asymmetry of Cerl2 expression, which likely generates a left-right difference in Nodal activity at the node for further amplification in lateral plate mesoderm.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)222-232
Number of pages11
JournalDevelopmental Biology
Volume380
Issue number2
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Aug 15 2013

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Molecular Biology
  • Developmental Biology
  • Cell Biology

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