title: Wingless repression of Drosophila frizzled 2 expression shapes the Wingless morphogen gradient in the wing.
abstract: In Drosophila wing imaginal discs, the Wingless (Wg) protein acts as a morphogen, emanating from the dorsal/ventral (D/V) boundary of the disc to directly define cell identities along the D/V axis at short and long range. Here, we show that high levels of a Wg receptor, Drosophila frizzled 2 (Dfz2), stabilize Wg, allowing it to reach cells far from its site of synthesis. Wg signaling represses Dfz2 expression, creating a gradient of decreasing Wg stability moving toward the D/V boundary. This repression of Dfz2 is crucial for the normal shape of Wg morphogen gradient as well as the response of cells to the Wg signal. In contrast to other ligand-receptor relationships where the receptor limits diffusion of the ligand, Dfz2 broadens the range of Wg action by protecting it from degradation.
authors.affiliation: Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Department of Developmental Biology, Stanford University Medical Center, California 94305, USA.
authors.forename: K M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Cadigan
authors.forename: M P
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Fish
authors.forename: E J
authors.initials: EJ
authors.lastname: Rulifson
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Nusse
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001692:Biological Transport; D015153:Blotting, Western; D019521:Body Patterning; D002450:Cell Communication; D004330:Drosophila / Q000196:embryology*; D029721:Drosophila Proteins; D051157:Frizzled Receptors; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D017344:Genes, Insect; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D017403:In Situ Hybridization; D008954:Models, Biological; D009024:Morphogenesis; D011518:Proto-Oncogene Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D011956:Receptors, Cell Surface / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000235:genetics; D043562:Receptors, G-Protein-Coupled; D017981:Receptors, Neurotransmitter; D014018:Tissue Distribution; D014921:Wings, Animal / Q000196:embryology*; D051155:Wnt1 Protein
chemical_list: D029721:Drosophila Proteins; D051157:Frizzled Receptors; D011518:Proto-Oncogene Proteins; D011956:Receptors, Cell Surface; D043562:Receptors, G-Protein-Coupled; D017981:Receptors, Neurotransmitter; D051155:Wnt1 Protein; C101703:fz2 protein, Drosophila; C074622:wg protein, Drosophila