Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Journal Club
  • Published:

Solving the Wnt nuclear puzzle

Nature Reviews Molecular Cell Biology volume 25, page 597 (2024)Cite this article

Subjects

Determining the path of information from the cell surface through relay molecules to the nucleus is fundamental in studying signal transduction. However, these studies are challenging because pathway components can participate in distinct protein complexes and processes. A notable example is Wnt or Wingless (Wg) signalling, which is now appreciated as essential for embryonic development and pattern formation across species, and its dysregulation is known to cause disease.

The discovery that DNA-binding factors first identified in immune cell development, TCF/LEF, bound to β-catenin in yeast two-hybrid assays, rationalized how β-catenin might signal in the nucleus. Only TCF containing its β-catenin binding domain could cause axis duplication in Xenopus embryos, suggesting TCF and β-catenin could act together as a bipartite transcription complex. Whether this complex was the ultimate target of endogenous Wnt signalling remained unclear, setting the stage for two landmark papers.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Buy this article

  • Purchase on SpringerLink
  • Instant access to full article PDF
Buy now

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

References

Original article

  • Brunner, E. et al. pangolin encodes a Lef-1 homologue that acts downstream of Armadillo to transduce the Wingless signal in Drosophila. Nature 385, 829–833 (1997)

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Related article

  • Van de Wetering, M. et al. Armadillo coactivates transcription driven by the product of the Drosophila segment polarity gene dTCF. Cell 88, 789–799 (1997)

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Molecular Biology and Biochemistry, Simon Fraser University, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

    Esther M. Verheyen

  2. Centre for Cell Biology, Development, and Disease, Simon Fraser University, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

    Esther M. Verheyen

  3. Department of Medicine, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL, USA

    Cara J. Gottardi

  4. Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL, USA

    Cara J. Gottardi

Authors
  1. Esther M. Verheyen
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Cara J. Gottardi
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Esther M. Verheyen or Cara J. Gottardi.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Verheyen, E.M., Gottardi, C.J. Solving the Wnt nuclear puzzle. Nat Rev Mol Cell Biol 25, 597 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41580-024-00747-7

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41580-024-00747-7

Search

Advanced search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing