Retina ganglion cell (RGC) axons grow along a stereotyped pathway undergoing coordinated rounds of fasciculation and defasciculation, which are critical to establishing proper eye-brain connections. How this coordination is achieved is poorly understood, but shedding of guidance cues by metalloproteinases is emerging as a relevant mechanism. Secreted Frizzled Related Proteins (Sfrps) are multif...

PURPOSE To examine cancer genes undergoing epigenetic inactivation in a set of T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemias (T-ALLs) to obtain the CpG island methylator phenotype (CIMP) in the disease and its possible correlation with clinical features and outcome of the patients. PATIENTS AND METHODS Methylation-specific polymerase chain reaction was used to analyze methylation of the ADAMTS-1, ADAM...

Animals’ Wnt signaling pathways are highly preserved signal transduction pathways, which play a crucial role in embryogenesis and adult tissue homeostasis. This chapter reviews the three major focusing on some critical proteins Wnt/β-catenin path terms of their evolution act as gateway between extracellular, cytoplasmic, nuclear components to transmit pathways. The Frizzled (FZD) family G-prote...

The telencephalon is one of the most complex parts of the brain, and its patterning is still poorly understood. In this issue of Neuron, describe a novel Wnt antagonist Tlc, a member of the secreted Frizzled-related protein (sFrp) family. Secreted from the anterior boundary of the zebrafish neural plate, Tlc appears to protect the telencephalon from obliteration by a more caudal neural Wnt signal.

The Xenopus gene crescent encodes a member of the secreted Frizzled-related protein (sFRP) family and is expressed in the head organizer region. However, the target and function of Crescent in early development are not well understood. Here, we describe a role of Crescent in the regulation of convergent extension movements (CEMs) during gastrulation and neurulation. We show that overexpression ...

Secreted frizzled-related proteins (Sfrps) are considered Wnt signalling antagonists but recent studies have shown that specific family members enhance Wnt diffusion and thus positively modulate Wnt signalling. Whether this is a general and physiological property of all Sfrps remains unexplored. It is equally unclear whether disruption of Sfrp expression interferes with developmental events med...

This study examined the effect of sodium fluoride (NaF) on the Wnt and RhoA signaling pathways in murine ameloblast-lineage cells (ALCs) to better understand the developmental mechanisms of dental fluorosis. Wnt and Rho pathway activities were investigated when ALCs were treated with 1.5 mM NaF, dickkopf-related protein-1 (Dkk-1), secreted frizzled related-protein-2 (sFRP-2), β-catenin siRNA do...