A chicken Wnt gene, Wnt-11, is involved in dermal development.

We have isolated a new member of the Wnt gene family, Wnt-11, from chick embryo cDNA library and examined the expression pattern during embryogenesis by in situ hybridization. The Wnt-11 gene encodes Cys-rich secretory protein distantly related to Wnt-1 through Wnt-8 from the mouse and Xenopus. Expression of the Wnt-11 gene became evident at stage 14 in the dorsolateral region of somites and gradually restricted to the dermatome at stage 19 and later. In contrast to the other Wnt genes, Wnt-11 was not expressed in the neuroepithelium throughout stages 14-26. At stage 24 and later, Wnt-11 was expressed in the subectodermal mesenchyme of the limb and feather buds. The unique expression pattern of Wnt-11 in the paraxial mesoderm and dermatome suggests that Wnt-11 may play an important role in dermal development.