| First Author | Nakaya MA | Year | 2005 |
| Journal | Development | Volume | 132 |
| Issue | 24 | Pages | 5425-36 |
| PubMed ID | 16291790 | Mgi Jnum | J:104377 |
| Mgi Id | MGI:3611726 | Doi | 10.1242/dev.02149 |
| Citation | Nakaya MA, et al. (2005) Wnt3alinks left-right determination with segmentation and anteroposterior axis elongation. Development 132(24):5425-36 |
| abstractText | The alignment of the left-right (LR) body axis relative to the anteroposterior (AP) and dorsoventral (DV) axes is central to the organization of the vertebrate body plan and is controlled by the node/organizer. Somitogenesis plays a key role in embryo morphogenesis as a principal component of AP elongation. How morphogenesis is coupled to axis specification is not well understood. We demonstrate that Wnt3a is required for LR asymmetry. Wnt3a activates the Delta/Notch pathway to regulate perinodal expression of the left determinant Nodal, while simultaneously controlling the segmentation clock and the molecular oscillations of the Wnt/beta-catenin and Notch pathways. We provide evidence that Wnt3a, expressed in the primitive streak and dorsal posterior node, acts as a long-range signaling molecule, directly regulating target gene expression throughout the node and presomitic mesoderm. Wnt3a may also modulate the symmetry-breaking activity of mechanosensory cilia in the node. Thus, Wnt3a links the segmentation clock and AP axis elongation with key left-determining events, suggesting that Wnt3a is an integral component of the trunk organizer. |
