title: Monitoring Wnt/β-Catenin Signaling in Skin.
abstract: Wnt signaling through β-catenin plays a crucial role in skin development and homeostasis. Disruption or hyperactivation of this pathway results in skin defects and diseases (Lim and Nusse, Cold Spring Harb Perspect Biol 5(2), 2013). Monitoring Wnt signaling in skin under normal and abnormal conditions is therefore critical to understand the role of this pathway in development and homeostasis.In this chapter, we provide methods to detect Wnt/β-catenin (canonical) signaling in the skin. We present a comprehensive list of Wnt reporter mice and detail the processing of skin tissue to detect reporter genes. From this list, we focus on the three most recent lines that, according to reports, are the most sensitive in skin. Additionally, we describe a protocol to detect nuclear β-catenin, a hallmark of active Wnt signaling, although this technique should be used with caution due to its limited sensitivity. The techniques outlined below will be useful for detecting active Wnt signaling in skin.
authors: Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine Center, Baylor College of Medicine, One Baylor Plaza, BCM 505, Houston, TX, 77030, USA.|Center for Cell and Gene Therapy, Baylor College of Medicine, One Baylor Plaza, Houston, TX, 77030, USA.|Interdepartmental Program in Translational Biology and Molecular Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, One Baylor Plaza, Houston, TX, 77030, USA.
authors: Amy T
authors: AT
authors: Ku
authors: Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine Center, Baylor College of Medicine, One Baylor Plaza, BCM 505, Houston, TX, 77030, USA.|Center for Cell and Gene Therapy, Baylor College of Medicine, One Baylor Plaza, Houston, TX, 77030, USA.
authors: Qi
authors: Q
authors: Miao
authors: Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine Center, Baylor College of Medicine, One Baylor Plaza, BCM 505, Houston, TX, 77030, USA. hoangn@bcm.edu.|Center for Cell and Gene Therapy, Baylor College of Medicine, One Baylor Plaza, Houston, TX, 77030, USA. hoangn@bcm.edu.|Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Baylor College of Medicine, One Baylor Plaza, Houston, TX, 77030, USA. hoangn@bcm.edu.|Department of Dermatology, Baylor College of Medicine, One Baylor Plaza, Houston, TX, 77030, USA. hoangn@bcm.edu.|Program in Developmental Biology, Baylor College of Medicine, One Baylor Plaza, Houston, TX, 77030, USA. hoangn@bcm.edu.
authors: Hoang
authors: H
authors: Nguyen
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D006706:Homeostasis; D051379:Mice; D008967:Molecular Biology / Q000379:methods*; D012867:Skin / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism*; D060449:Wnt Signaling Pathway / Q000235:genetics*; D051176:beta Catenin / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D051176:beta Catenin
keywords: Epidermis; Hair follicles; Skin; Wnt reporter mice