Click here to close Hello! We notice that you are using Internet Explorer, which is not supported by Xenbase and may cause the site to display incorrectly. We suggest using a current version of Chrome, FireFox, or Safari.
XB-ART-37254
EMBO J 2008 Feb 20;274:606-17. doi: 10.1038/emboj.2008.9.
Show Gene links Show Anatomy links

WGEF activates Rho in the Wnt-PCP pathway and controls convergent extension in Xenopus gastrulation.

Tanegashima K , Zhao H , Dawid IB .


???displayArticle.abstract???
The Wnt-PCP (planar cell polarity, PCP) pathway regulates cell polarity and convergent extension movements during axis formation in vertebrates by activation of Rho and Rac, leading to the re-organization of the actin cytoskeleton. Rho and Rac activation require guanine nucleotide-exchange factors (GEFs), but the identity of the GEF involved in Wnt-PCP-mediated convergent extension is unknown. Here we report the identification of the weak-similarity GEF (WGEF) gene by a microarray-based screen for notochord enriched genes, and show that WGEF is involved in Wnt-regulated convergent extension. Overexpression of WGEF activated RhoA and rescued the suppression of convergent extension by dominant-negative Wnt-11, whereas depletion of WGEF led to suppression of convergent extension that could be rescued by RhoA or Rho-associated kinase activation. WGEF protein preferentially localized at the plasma membrane, and Frizzled-7 induced colocalization of Dishevelled and WGEF. WGEF protein can bind to Dishevelled and Daam-1, and deletion of the Dishevelled-binding domain generates a hyperactive from of WGEF. These results indicate that WGEF is a component of the Wnt-PCP pathway that connects Dishevelled to Rho activation.

???displayArticle.pubmedLink??? 18256687
???displayArticle.pmcLink??? PMC2262038
???displayArticle.link??? EMBO J
???displayArticle.grants??? [+]

Species referenced: Xenopus laevis
Genes referenced: actl6a akt1 arhgef19 daam1 dvl2 fzd7 rac1 rho rho.2 rhoa wnt11b
???displayArticle.morpholinos??? arhgef19 MO1 arhgef19 MO2

References [+] :
Asashima, Mesodermal induction in early amphibian embryos by activin A (erythroid differentiation factor). 1990, Pubmed, Xenbase