Wnt signaling represents a highly versatile signaling system, which plays diverse and critical roles in various aspects of neural development. Sensory neurons of the dorsal root ganglia require Wnt signaling for initial cell-fate determination as well as patterning and synapse formation. Here we report that Wnt signaling pathways persist in adult sensory neurons and play a functional role in th...

A role for Wnt signal transduction in the development and maintenance of brain structures is widely acknowledged. Recent studies have suggested that Wnt signaling may be essential for synaptic plasticity and neurotransmission. However, the direct effect of a Wnt protein on synaptic transmission had not been demonstrated. Here we show that nanomolar concentrations of purified Wnt3a protein rapid...

The mechanisms that regulate hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) fate decisions between proliferation and multilineage differentiation are unclear. Members of the Wnt family of ligands that activate the canonical Wnt signaling pathway, which utilizes beta-catenin to relay the signal, have been demonstrated to regulate HSC function. In this study, we examined the role of noncanonical Wnt signaling in ...

In recent years, it has become apparent that the Wnt signaling pathway, known for its essential functions in embryonic development and tissue homeostasis, exerts immunomodulatory functions during inflammation and infection. Most functional studies indicate that Wnt5a exerts pro-inflammatory functions on its cellular targets, which include various types of immune and non-immune cells. Wnt5a expr...

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are a potential source of chondrogenic cells for the treatment of cartilage disorders, but loss of chondrogenic potential during in vitro expansion and the propensity of cartilage to undergo hypertrophic maturation impede their therapeutic application. Here we report that the signaling protein WNT3A, in combination with FGF2, supports long-term expansion of human b...

Histone methylation has an important role in transcriptional regulation. However, unlike H3K4 and H3K9 methylation, the role of H4K20 monomethylation (H4K20me-1) in transcriptional regulation remains unclear. Here, we show that Wnt3a specifically stimulates H4K20 monomethylation at the T cell factor (TCF)-binding element through the histone methylase SET8. Additionally, SET8 is crucial for acti...

A disintegrin and metalloproteinase 10 (ADAM10) is the constitutive α-secretase that governs the nonamyloidogenic pathway of β-amyloid precursor protein processing and is an attractive drug target for treating Alzheimer's disease. To date, little is known about the mechanism by which ADAM10 is regulated in neurons. Using mouse primary cortical neurons, we show here that NMDA receptor (NMDAR) ac...