Wnt5 signaling in vertebrate pancreas development

• Main Authors: Petryk Anna, Sumanas Saulius, Jessurun Jose, Schleiffarth Jack R, Kim Hyon J, Lin Shuo, Ekker Stephen C
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: BMC 2005-10-01
• Series: BMC Biology
• Online Access: http://www.biomedcentral.com/1741-7007/3/23

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Signaling by the Wnt family of secreted glycoproteins through their receptors, the frizzled (Fz) family of seven-pass transmembrane proteins, is critical for numerous cell fate and tissue polarity decisions during development.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We report a novel role of Wnt signaling in organogenesis using the formation of the islet during pancreatic development as a model tissue. We used the advantages of the zebrafish to visualize and document this process in living embryos and demonstrated that <it>insulin</it>-positive cells actively migrate to form an islet. We used morpholinos (MOs), sequence-specific translational inhibitors, and time-lapse imaging analysis to show that the Wnt-5 ligand and the Fz-2 receptor are required for proper <it>insulin</it>-cell migration in zebrafish. Histological analyses of islets in <it>Wnt5a</it>^-/-mouse embryos showed that Wnt5a signaling is also critical for murine pancreatic <it>insulin</it>-cell migration.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Our results implicate a conserved role of a Wnt5/Fz2 signaling pathway in islet formation during pancreatic development. This study opens the door for further investigation into a role of Wnt signaling in vertebrate organ development and disease.</p>