Wntless, a Conserved Membrane Protein Dedicated to the Secretion of Wnt Proteins from Signaling Cells
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Cell-cell communication via Wnt signals represents a fundamental means by which animal development and homeostasis are controlled. The identification of components of the Wnt pathway is reaching saturation for the transduction process in receiving cells but is incomplete concerning the events occurring in Wnt-secreting cells. Here, we describe the discovery of a novel Wnt pathway component, Wntless (Wls/Evi), and show that it is required for Wingless-dependent patterning processes in Drosophila, for MOM-2-governed polarization of blastomeres in C. elegans, and for Wnt3a-mediated communication between cultured human cells. In each of these cases, Wls is acting in the Wnt-sending cells to promote the secretion of Wnt proteins. Since loss of Wls function has no effect on other signaling pathways yet appears to impede all the Wnt signals we analyzed, we propose that Wls represents an ancient partner for Wnts dedicated to promoting their secretion into the extracellular milieu.
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The porcupine protein plays an important role in the palmitolation of the Wnt proteins, and their secretion is regulated by the wntless or evenness interrupted proteins and the retromer complex.
“The porcupine protein has been shown to play an important role in the palmitolation of the Wnt proteins, and their secretion is regulated by the wntless or evenness interrupted proteins and the retromer complex.11–14”
From Wnt signal transduction pathways (2008) · cites this paper as [11]
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- Authors
- Bänziger, C., Soldini, D., Schütt, C., Zipperlen, P., Hausmann, G., & Basler, K.
- Affiliations
- University of Zurich (CH)
- Corresponding author
- Basler, Konrad
- Venue
- Cell
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2006-05
- Volume
- 125
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 509-522
- ISSN
- 0092-8674 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2025453970
- Cited by
- 764
- References
- 44
- Citations by year
- 2026: 26 · 2025: 22 · 2024: 38 · 2023: 35 · 2022: 36 · 2021: 36 · 2020: 60 · 2019: 38 · 2018: 57 · 2017: 39 · 2016: 40 · 2015: 45 · 2014: 58 · 2013: 39 · 2012: 42
- FWCI
- 13.31
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Cell (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Zurich Open Repository and Archive (University of Zurich) (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Wnt/β-catenin signaling in development and cancer
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Developmental Biology and Gene Regulation
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Hedgehog Signaling Pathway Studies
- Keywords
- Wntless, Wnt secretion, Wnt signaling, membrane proteins, Drosophila, Caenorhabditis elegans, Wnt3a, intercellular communication
- MeSH terms
- Amino Acid Sequence, Animals, Base Sequence, Blastomeres, Cell Communication, Drosophila melanogaster, Female, Humans, Male, Membrane Proteins, Molecular Sequence Data, Signal Transduction, Cell Polarity, Conserved Sequence, Caenorhabditis elegans, DNA, Complementary, Evolution, Molecular, Body Patterning, Drosophila Proteins, Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins, Intracellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins, Wnt Proteins, Wnt3 Protein, Wnt3A Protein
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