In vivo tracing of canonical Wnt signaling in Xenopus tadpoles by means of an inducible transgenic reporter tool

FEBS Lett. 2006 Jan 23;580(2):393-8. doi: 10.1016/j.febslet.2005.11.084. Epub 2005 Dec 19.

Abstract

The canonical Wnt pathway is recurrently used during embryogenesis and adult life. To track the cellular output of Wnt signaling in a living organism, we designed a hormone-inducible Wnt responsive system, capable to dynamically and specifically report Wnt pathway activities through eGFP expression. In contrast to previous in vivo reporters, our system essentially avoids interference of consecutive signals by remaining dormant until addition of hormone, which makes it a valuable tool to map canonical Wnt signaling in post-embryonic stages. Transgenic Xenopus laevis embryos were analyzed revealing at tadpole stage in specific tissues and organs cell populations with high Wnt pathway activity.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Animals, Genetically Modified*
  • Genes, Reporter*
  • Larva / anatomy & histology
  • Larva / physiology*
  • Recombinant Fusion Proteins / genetics
  • Recombinant Fusion Proteins / metabolism
  • Signal Transduction / physiology*
  • Wnt Proteins / genetics
  • Wnt Proteins / metabolism*
  • Xenopus laevis / genetics
  • Xenopus laevis / physiology*

Substances

  • Recombinant Fusion Proteins
  • Wnt Proteins