title: beta-Catenin signals regulate cell growth and the balance between progenitor cell expansion and differentiation in the nervous system.
abstract: beta-Catenin is an essential component of the canonical Wnt signaling system that controls decisive steps in development. We employed here two conditional beta-catenin mutant alleles to alter beta-catenin signaling in the central nervous system of mice: one allele to ablate beta-catenin and the second allele to express a constitutively active beta-catenin. The tissue mass of the spinal cord and brain is reduced after ablation of beta-catenin, and the neuronal precursor population is not maintained. In contrast, the spinal cord and brain of mice that express activated beta-catenin is much enlarged in mass, and the neuronal precursor population is increased in size. beta-Catenin signals are thus essential for the maintenance of proliferation of neuronal progenitors, controlling the size of the progenitor pool, and impinging on the decision of neuronal progenitors to proliferate or to differentiate.
authors.affiliation: Max-Delbrück-Center of Molecular Medicine, Robert-Rössle-Str. 10, 13125, Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Dietmar
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Zechner
authors.forename: Yasuyuki
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Fujita
authors.forename: Jörg
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hülsken
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Müller
authors.forename: Ingrid
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Walther
authors.forename: Makoto M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Taketo
authors.forename: E Bryan
authors.initials: EB
authors.lastname: Crenshaw
authors.forename: Walter
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Birchmeier
authors.forename: Carmen
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Birchmeier
mesh_terms: D000483:Alleles; D000818:Animals; D060466:Axin Protein; D001921:Brain / Q000166:cytology / Q000196:embryology / Q000378:metabolism; D001973:Bromodeoxyuridine / Q000378:metabolism; D002454:Cell Differentiation; D002455:Cell Division; D002490:Central Nervous System / Q000166:cytology* / Q000196:embryology* / Q000378:metabolism; D003598:Cytoskeletal Proteins / Q000172:deficiency / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D018507:Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental; D051379:Mice; D008817:Mice, Mutant Strains; D008822:Mice, Transgenic; D009154:Mutation; D009474:Neurons / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism; D011518:Proto-Oncogene Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D015398:Signal Transduction; D013116:Spinal Cord / Q000166:cytology / Q000196:embryology / Q000378:metabolism; D013234:Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism; D015534:Trans-Activators / Q000172:deficiency / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D051153:Wnt Proteins; D029961:Zebrafish Proteins; D051176:beta Catenin
chemical_list: D060466:Axin Protein; C111729:Axin2 protein, mouse; C495267:CTNNB1 protein, mouse; D003598:Cytoskeletal Proteins; D011518:Proto-Oncogene Proteins; D015534:Trans-Activators; D051153:Wnt Proteins; D029961:Zebrafish Proteins; D051176:beta Catenin; D001973:Bromodeoxyuridine