Wnt signaling drives WRM-1/beta-catenin asymmetries in early C. elegans embryos.
beta-Catenin regulates cell adhesion and cellular differentiation during development, and misregulation of beta-catenin contributes to numerous forms of cancer in humans. Here we describe Caenorhabditis elegans conditional alleles of mom-2/Wnt, mom-4/Tak1, and wrm-1/beta-catenin. We use these reagents to examine the regulation of WRM-1/beta-catenin during a Wnt-signaling-induced asymmetric cell division. While WRM-1 protein initially accumulates in the nuclei of all cells, signaling promotes the retention of WRM-1 in nuclei of responding cells. We show that both PRY-1/Axin and the nuclear exportin homolog IMB-4/CRM-1 antagonize signaling. These findings reveal how Wnt signals direct the asymmetric localization of beta-catenin during polarized cell division.
Nakamura
Kuniaki
K
Program in Molecular Medicine, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, Massachusetts 01605, USA.
Kim
Soyoung
S
Ishidate
Takao
T
Bei
Yanxia
Y
Pang
Kaming
K
Shirayama
Masaki
M
Trzepacz
Chris
C
Brownell
Daniel R
DR
Mello
Craig C
CC
D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D017173:Caenorhabditis elegans / Q000196:embryology* / Q000378:metabolism; D029742:Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D002455:Cell Division; D002467:Cell Nucleus / Q000378:metabolism; D016764:Cell Polarity; D003598:Cytoskeletal Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D049452:Green Fluorescent Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D036341:Intercellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D008565:Membrane Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; D015398:Signal Transduction; D015534:Trans-Activators / Q000378:metabolism*; D051153:Wnt Proteins; D051176:beta Catenin
D029742:Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins; D003598:Cytoskeletal Proteins; D036341:Intercellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins; D008565:Membrane Proteins; D015534:Trans-Activators; C120104:WRM-1 protein, C elegans; D051153:Wnt Proteins; D051176:beta Catenin; C120084:mom-4 protein, C elegans; D049452:Green Fluorescent Proteins