Wnt/ß-catenin signalling and the dynamics of fate decisions in early mouse embryos and embryonic stem (ES) cells

Abstract

Wnt/β-catenin signalling is a widespread cell signalling pathway with multiple roles during vertebrate development. In mouse embryonic stem (mES) cells, there is a dual role for β-catenin: it promotes differentiation when activated as part of the Wnt/β-catenin signalling pathway, and promotes stable pluripotency independently of signalling. Although mES cells resemble the preimplantation epiblast progenitors, the first requirement for Wnt/β-catenin signalling during mouse development has been reported at implantation [1,2]. The relationship between β-catenin and pluripotency and that of mES cells with epiblast progenitors suggests that β-catenin might have a functional role during preimplantation development. Here we summarize the expression and function of Wnt/β-catenin signalling elements during the early stages of mouse development and consider the reasons why the requirement in ES cells do not reflect the embryo.

Three-dimensional cell neighbourhood impacts differentiation in the inner mass cells of the mouse blastocyst

“…However, we cannot rule out that other major signalling pathways involved in patterning fields or groups of cells, such as Notch, Wnt, BMP, or EGF might also have an input 59 . In support of this, there are reports of Notch signalling involved in early mouse development [60][61][62] , as well as Wnt signalling 63 , BMP signalling 64,65 , EGF signalling 66 . In the light of our results, it will be important to revisit how these signalling pathways might be involved in cell fate decision in early blastocysts investigating how they affect cell position within the ICM.…”

Regulation of WNT Signaling by VSX2 During Optic Vesicle Patterning in Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells

“…The Wnt pathway is necessary for axis formation and early embryonic patterning, and also serves as an essential regulator of neural and ocular development in part through the canonical bCatenin/TCF/Lef transcriptional pathway [8,9,42,43]. With specific regard to ocular development, Wnt signaling is required for proper dorsal-ventral patterning, RPE production, and optic cup morphogenesis in vivo [10,11,[44][45][46][47].…”

Antagonism between Hedgehog and Wnt signaling pathways regulates tumorigenicity (Review)

“…The Wnt signaling pathway participates in the physiological processes of embryonic development, cellular proliferation and differentiation, and also plays an important role in the occurrence and development of various malignancies (52)(53)(54)(55). Wnt signaling is conducted via three pathways, as follows.…”

“…The network of signaling pathways, including Hh, Wnt, signal transducer and transcription activator (STAT) and NOTCH, contributes to cellular proliferation and differentiation, and to maintaining the stability of the internal environment (14)(15)(16)(52)(53)(54)(55). In invertebrates and lower vertebrates, activation of Wnt and Hh signaling pathways is crucial in embryogenesis and cellular differentiation (70,71).…”