title: Extra-embryonic Wnt3 regulates the establishment of the primitive streak in mice.
abstract: The establishment of the head to tail axis at early stages of development is a fundamental aspect of vertebrate embryogenesis. In mice, experimental embryology, genetics and expression studies have suggested that the visceral endoderm, an extra-embryonic tissue, plays an important role in anteroposterior axial development. Here we show that absence of Wnt3 in the posterior visceral endoderm leads to delayed formation of the primitive streak and that interplay between anterior and posterior visceral endoderm restricts the position of the primitive streak. Embryos lacking Wnt3 in the visceral endoderm, however, appear normal by E9.5. Our results suggest a model for axial development in which multiple signals are required for anteroposterior axial development in mammals.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA 01655, USA.
authors.forename: Yeonsoo
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yoon
authors.affiliation: Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA 01655, USA.
authors.forename: Tingting
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA 01655, USA.
authors.forename: Giovane G
authors.initials: GG
authors.lastname: Tortelote
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX 77555-0621, USA.
authors.forename: Maki
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Wakamiya
authors.affiliation: Developmental Biology Program, Sloan-Kettering Institute, New York, NY 10065, USA.
authors.forename: Anna-Katerina
authors.initials: AK
authors.lastname: Hadjantonakis
authors.affiliation: Department of Genetics, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX 77030, USA.
authors.forename: Richard R
authors.initials: RR
authors.lastname: Behringer
authors.affiliation: Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA 01655, USA. Electronic address: jaime.rivera@umassmed.edu.
authors.forename: Jaime A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Rivera-Pérez
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D019521:Body Patterning / Q000235:genetics*; D004707:Endoderm / Q000166:cytology / Q000196:embryology*; D054262:Gastrulation / Q000235:genetics; D018507:Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental; D051379:Mice; D054240:Primitive Streak / Q000196:embryology*; D060508:Wnt3 Protein / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D060508:Wnt3 Protein; C555508:Wnt3 protein, mouse
keywords: Axial specification; Embryo; Gastrulation; Mouse; Primitive streak; Wnt3