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 language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 199-209 |
Number of pages | 11 |
Journal | Mechanisms of Development |
Volume | 63 |
Issue number | 2 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - May 1997 |
Externally published | Yes |
Keywords
- Brain development
- Dorsoventral axis
- En-2
- Neural induction
- Wnt
- Xenopus