title: Wnt signaling though beta-catenin is required for prostate lineage specification.
abstract: Androgens initiate a complex network of signals within the UGS that trigger prostate lineage commitment and bud formation. Given its contributions to organogenesis in other systems, we investigated a role for canonical Wnt signaling in prostate development. We developed a new method to achieve complete deletion of beta-catenin, the transcriptional coactivator required for canonical Wnt signaling, in early prostate development. Beta-catenin deletion abrogated canonical Wnt signaling and yielded prostate rudiments that exhibited dramatically decreased budding and failed to adopt prostatic identity. This requirement for canonical Wnt signaling was limited to a brief critical period during the initial molecular phase of prostate identity specification. Deletion of beta-catenin in the adult prostate did not significantly affect organ homeostasis. Collectively, these data establish that beta-catenin and Wnt signaling play key roles in prostate lineage specification and bud outgrowth.
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular and Comparative Pathobiology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA. simons@jhmi.edu
authors.forename: Brian W
authors.initials: BW
authors.lastname: Simons
authors.forename: Paula J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Hurley
authors.forename: Zhenhua
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.forename: Ashley E
authors.initials: AE
authors.lastname: Ross
authors.forename: Rebecca
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Miller
authors.forename: Luigi
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Marchionni
authors.forename: David M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Berman
authors.forename: Edward M
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Schaeffer
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002454:Cell Differentiation; D018398:Homeodomain Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D008817:Mice, Mutant Strains; D011467:Prostate / Q000002:abnormalities / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism*; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D060449:Wnt Signaling Pathway; D051176:beta Catenin / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D018398:Homeodomain Proteins; C100943:Hoxb13 protein, mouse; C102837:Nkx3-1 protein, mouse; D014157:Transcription Factors; D051176:beta Catenin