Department of Neuroscience, and Graduate Program in Neuroscience, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455, USA.
Dev Dyn. 2009 Dec;238(12):3297-309. doi: 10.1002/dvdy.22167.
In neural development, several Wnt genes are expressed in the vertebrate diencephalon, including the thalamus. However, roles of Wnt signaling in the thalamus during neurogenesis are not well understood. We examined Wnt/beta-catenin activity in embryonic mouse thalamus and found that a Wnt target gene Axin2 and reporter activity of BAT-gal transgenic mice show similar, differential patterns within the thalamic ventricular zone, where ventral and rostral regions had lower activity than other regions. Expression of Wnt ligands and signaling components also showed complex, differential patterns. Finally, based on partially reciprocal patterns of Wnt and Shh signals in the thalamic ventricular zone, we tested if Shh signal is sufficient or necessary for the differential Axin2 expression. Analysis of mice with enhanced or reduced Shh signal showed that Axin2 expression is similar to controls. These results suggest that differential Wnt signaling may play a role in patterning the thalamus independent of Shh signaling.
在神经发育过程中,几种 Wnt 基因在脊椎动物的间脑(包括丘脑)中表达。然而,Wnt 信号在神经发生过程中对丘脑的作用还不是很清楚。我们研究了胚胎期小鼠丘脑中的 Wnt//β-catenin 活性,发现 Wnt 靶基因 Axin2 和 BAT-gal 转基因小鼠的报告基因活性在丘脑室管膜区具有相似但不同的表达模式,其中腹侧和头侧区域的活性低于其他区域。Wnt 配体和信号成分的表达也表现出复杂的、不同的模式。最后,根据丘脑室管膜区 Wnt 和 Shh 信号的部分相互反转模式,我们测试了 Shh 信号是否足以或必需来产生 Axin2 的差异表达。对具有增强或减弱 Shh 信号的小鼠进行分析表明,Axin2 的表达与对照组相似。这些结果表明,差异的 Wnt 信号可能在丘脑的模式形成中发挥作用,而不依赖于 Shh 信号。