Xwnt-2b is a novel axis-inducing Xenopus Wnt, which is expressed in embryonic brain

Yosef Landesman, Sergei Y. Sokol

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

40 Scopus citations

Abstract

Xwnt-2b is a novel member of the Wnt gene family and is 73-74% similar to human and mouse Wnt-2 proteins. Starting from stage 15, Xwnt-2b transcripts are localized to a non-contiguous stripe in the anterior neural plate of the Xenopus embryo. In the tailbud, Xwnt-2b is expressed along the dorsoanterior side of the prosencephalon-mesencephalon boundary. At the tadpole stages, the brain-specific expression fades, but the total amount of Xwnt-2b mRNA does not decline due to activation of its expression in non- brain areas. Microinjection of Xwnt-2b mRNA into a ventral blastomere of 4- 8-cell embryos results in the formation of complete secondary body axes. These results suggest that Xwnt-2b is a member of the axis-inducing Writs and that it is involved in brain development and in later organogenesis.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)199-209
Number of pages11
JournalMechanisms of Development
Volume63
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - May 1997
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Brain development
  • Dorsoventral axis
  • En-2
  • Neural induction
  • Wnt
  • Xenopus

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