beta-Catenin signals regulate cell growth and the balance between progenitor cell expansion and differentiation in the nervous system

Dietmar Zechner; Yasuyuki Fujita; Jörg Hülsken; Thomas Müller; Ingrid Walther; Makoto M Taketo; E Bryan Crenshaw 3rd; Walter Birchmeier; Carmen Birchmeier

doi:10.1016/s0012-1606(03)00123-4

beta-Catenin signals regulate cell growth and the balance between progenitor cell expansion and differentiation in the nervous system

Dev Biol. 2003 Jun 15;258(2):406-18. doi: 10.1016/s0012-1606(03)00123-4.

Authors

Dietmar Zechner¹, Yasuyuki Fujita, Jörg Hülsken, Thomas Müller, Ingrid Walther, Makoto M Taketo, E Bryan Crenshaw 3rd, Walter Birchmeier, Carmen Birchmeier

Affiliation

¹ Max-Delbrück-Center of Molecular Medicine, Robert-Rössle-Str. 10, 13125, Berlin, Germany.

PMID: 12798297
DOI: 10.1016/s0012-1606(03)00123-4

Abstract

beta-Catenin is an essential component of the canonical Wnt signaling system that controls decisive steps in development. We employed here two conditional beta-catenin mutant alleles to alter beta-catenin signaling in the central nervous system of mice: one allele to ablate beta-catenin and the second allele to express a constitutively active beta-catenin. The tissue mass of the spinal cord and brain is reduced after ablation of beta-catenin, and the neuronal precursor population is not maintained. In contrast, the spinal cord and brain of mice that express activated beta-catenin is much enlarged in mass, and the neuronal precursor population is increased in size. beta-Catenin signals are thus essential for the maintenance of proliferation of neuronal progenitors, controlling the size of the progenitor pool, and impinging on the decision of neuronal progenitors to proliferate or to differentiate.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Alleles
Animals
Axin Protein
Brain / cytology
Brain / embryology
Brain / metabolism
Bromodeoxyuridine / metabolism
Cell Differentiation
Cell Division
Central Nervous System / cytology*
Central Nervous System / embryology*
Central Nervous System / metabolism
Cytoskeletal Proteins / deficiency
Cytoskeletal Proteins / genetics
Cytoskeletal Proteins / physiology*
Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental
Mice
Mice, Mutant Strains
Mice, Transgenic
Mutation
Neurons / cytology
Neurons / metabolism
Proto-Oncogene Proteins / metabolism
Signal Transduction
Spinal Cord / cytology
Spinal Cord / embryology
Spinal Cord / metabolism
Stem Cells / cytology
Stem Cells / metabolism
Trans-Activators / deficiency
Trans-Activators / genetics
Trans-Activators / physiology*
Wnt Proteins
Zebrafish Proteins*
beta Catenin

Substances

Axin Protein
Axin2 protein, mouse
CTNNB1 protein, mouse
Cytoskeletal Proteins
Proto-Oncogene Proteins
Trans-Activators
Wnt Proteins
Zebrafish Proteins
beta Catenin
Bromodeoxyuridine