Mice, cell lines, retroviral vectors, cell culture, flow cytometry, immunostainings, teratoma formation and blastocyst injections were previously described in detail (Wernig et al., 2007; Meissner et al., 2007; Brambrink et al., 2008). Wnt3a conditioned media (Willert et al., 2003) and control conditioned media from parental L cells were generated according to standard protocols (ATCC), and use...

Metastasis is the leading cause of death in lung cancer. Understanding the mechanisms underlying the process of metastasis is crucial for identifying novel anti-metastatic therapies. Studies indicate that the highly conserved developmental pathways, such as the Wnt and Notch signaling pathways, play important roles in the non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) tumorigenesis. However, the roles of b...

AIM To investigate the effect of activation of canonical Wnt signaling pathway on the proliferation and differentiation of hepatic oval cells in vitro. METHODS WB-F344 cells were treated with recombinant Wnt3a (20, 40, 80, 160, 200 ng/mL) in serum-free medium for 24 h. Cell proliferation was measured by Brdu incorporation analysis; untreated WB-F344 cells were taken as controls. After treatme...

Abstract Wntless (WLS), an evolutionarily conserved multi-pass transmembrane protein, is essential for secretion of Wnt proteins. Wnt-triggered signaling pathways control many crucial life events, whereas aberrant tightly associated with human diseases including cancers. Here, we report the cryo-EM structure WLS in complex Wnt3a, most widely studied Wnt, at 2.2 Å resolution. The domain bears a ...

Upon arrival at their synaptic targets, axons slow down their growth and extensively remodel before the assembly of presynaptic boutons. Wnt proteins are target-derived secreted factors that promote axonal remodelling and synaptic assembly. In the developing spinal cord, Wnts secreted by motor neurons promote axonal remodelling of NT-3 responsive dorsal root ganglia neurons. Axon remodelling in...

The tumor suppressor protein ELL-associated factor 2 (Eaf2) serves an important role in lens development and maturation; however, its role in oxidative stress‑induced cataract formation remains unclear. In the present study, an in vitro apoptosis model was constructed by treating HLE‑B3 cells with 50 µM hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), and was confirmed by flow cytometry. Subsequently, overexpression ...

Growing evidence suggests the Wnt family of secreted glycoproteins and their associated signaling pathways, linked to development, are recapitulated during wound repair and regeneration events. However, the role of the Wnt pathway in such settings remains unclear. In the current study, we treated mouse fibroblasts with 250 ng/mL of recombinant Wnt3a for 72 hours and examined its affect on cell ...

Previous studies have shown that Wnt3a enhances the proliferation and inhibits the osteogenic differentiation of human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs). In this study, we investigated the signaling pathways involved in Wnt3a-induced osteoblastic cell proliferation. Experiments with DKK1, a natural antagonist of Lrp5/6, indicated that Wnt/β-catenin did not play a major role in Wnt3a-induced osteob...

BACKGROUND Chondrogenic differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) is important for osteoarthritis (OA) treatment. However, the specific mechanisms involved are undefined. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) downregulate protein synthesis by binding to the 3'UTR of target mRNA. METHODS Bone marrow aspirates were obtained from OA patients undergoing total hip arthroplasty (n=8) to isolate MSCs. MiR-410 o...

In Drosophila, activation of Jun N-terminal Kinase (JNK) mediated by Frizzled and Dishevelled leads to signaling linked to planar cell polarity. A biochemical delineation of WNT-JNK planar cell polarity was sought in mammalian cells, making use of totipotent mouse F9 teratocarcinoma cells that respond to WNT3a via Frizzled-1. The canonical WNT-beta-catenin signaling pathway requires both G alph...