Abstract
The Wnt signaling cascades are regulatory modules which are involved in embryonic patterning, cell differentiation, morphogenesis, and diseases (1, 2). The Wnt pathways are activated when secreted Wnt ligands interact with 7-trans-membrane receptors of the Frizzled (Fz) family. Specific readouts are determined by the ligand/receptor combinations and the cellular context. Here we describe two methods for the analysis of Wnt/Frizzled interactions in Xenopus embryos. Physical interaction of ligand and receptor are demonstrated by co-immunoprecipitation assays. The activation of Wnt targets in Xenopus animal cap tissue provides a versatile test system for activating and inhibitory components of the Wnt/ β -catenin pathway.
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Acknowledgments
We thank Anne Schohl and Fran ç ois Fagotto for sharing their immunoprecipitation protocol and Ana Cristina Silva for providing the scheme of animal cap assay.
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Steinbeisser, H., Swain, R.K. (2008). Wnt-Frizzled Interactions in Xenopus . In: Vincan, E. (eds) Wnt Signaling. Methods in Molecular Biology, vol 469. Humana Press, Totowa, NJ. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-60327-469-2_28
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-60327-469-2_28
Publisher Name: Humana Press, Totowa, NJ
Print ISBN: 978-1-60327-468-5
Online ISBN: 978-1-60327-469-2
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