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Cited by 38Wnt/β-catenin signaling in development and cancerDevelopmental Biology and Gene RegulationT-cell and B-cell Immunology

Elevated levels of Wnt signaling disrupt thymus morphogenesis and function

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Swann, Jeremy B., Happe, Christiane, Boehm, Thomas·2017·Scientific Reports
DOI 10.1038/s41598-017-00842-0PMC PMC5429746
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Abstract

All vertebrates possess a thymus, whose epithelial microenvironment is essential for T cell development and maturation. Despite the importance of the thymus for cellular immune defense, many questions surrounding its morphogenesis remain unanswered. Here, we demonstrate that, in contrast to the situation in many other epithelial cell types, differentiation of thymic epithelial cells (TECs) proceeds normally in the absence of canonical Wnt signaling and the classical adhesion molecule E-cadherin. By contrast, TEC-intrinsic activation of β-catenin-dependent Wnt signaling blocks the morphogenesis of the thymus, and overexpression of a secreted Wnt ligand by TECs dominantly modifies the morphogenesis not only of the thymus, but also of the parathyroid and thyroid. These observations indicate that Wnt signaling activity in the thymus needs to be precisely controlled to support normal TEC differentiation, and suggest possible mechanisms underlying anatomical variations of the thymus, parathyroid and thyroid in humans.

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  • NLK is not required in the early stages of thymus development.

    “Histological examination of E15.5 NLK-deficient thymi revealed a structurally normal thymus that expressed normal Foxn1 levels, thereby suggesting that NLK is not required in the early stages of thymus development [48].”

    From Nemo-Like Kinase in Development and Diseases: Insights from Mouse Studies (2020) · cites this paper as [48]

  • E15.5 NLK-deficient thymi were structurally normal and expressed normal Foxn1 levels.

    “Histological examination of E15.5 NLK-deficient thymi revealed a structurally normal thymus that expressed normal Foxn1 levels, thereby suggesting that NLK is not required in the early stages of thymus development [48].”

    From Nemo-Like Kinase in Development and Diseases: Insights from Mouse Studies (2020) · cites this paper as [48]

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Cited by

Sorted by citations

Authors
Swann, J. B., Happe, C., & Boehm, T.
Affiliations
Max Planck Institute of Immunobiology and Epigenetics (DE)
Corresponding author
  • Swann, Jeremy B.
  • Boehm, Thomas
ORCID
Venue
Scientific Reports
Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Published
2017-04-11
Volume
7
Issue
1
Pages
785-785
ISSN
2045-2322 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1038/s41598-017-00842-0
PMC
PMC5429746
OpenAlex
W2604632660
Cited by
38
References
1
Citations by year
2026: 3 · 2025: 4 · 2024: 4 · 2023: 1 · 2022: 12 · 2021: 3 · 2020: 5 · 2019: 3 · 2018: 1 · 2017: 2
FWCI
1.23
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Scientific Reports (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
  • Max Planck Digital Library (submittedVersion)
  • FreiDok plus (Universitätsbibliothek Freiburg) (submittedVersion)
  • MPG.PuRe (Max Planck Society) (submittedVersion)
Funders
  • European Commission (2007–2013, FP7 2007-2013, FP7/2007, 323126)
  • Max-Planck-Gesellschaft
  • Medical Research Council
  • National Health and Medical Research Council
  • FP7 Ideas: European Research Council (323126)
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 › Immunology and Microbiology › Immunology › T-cell and B-cell Immunology
Keywords
Wnt signaling, thymic epithelial cells, T cell development, β-catenin, E-cadherin, parathyroid glands, thyroid gland, anatomical variation, thymus
MeSH terms
Animals, Cell Differentiation, Cell Movement, Epithelial Cells, Immunohistochemistry, Mice, Transgenic, Morphogenesis, Thymus Gland, Signal Transduction, Biomarkers, Cadherins, Gene Expression, Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases, Mice, Knockout, Bone Morphogenetic Proteins, Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases, Wnt Proteins, beta Catenin, Mice, Wnt Signaling Pathway

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