PUBLICATION

Wnt/β-catenin signaling promotes neurogenesis in the diencephalospinal dopaminergic system of embryonic zebrafish

Authors
Westphal, M., Panza, P., Kastenhuber, E., Wehrle, J., Driever, W.
ID
ZDB-PUB-220121-1
Date
2022
Source
Scientific Reports   12: 1030 (Journal)
Registered Authors
Driever, Wolfgang, Kastenhuber, Edda, Westphal, Markus
Keywords
none
MeSH Terms
  • Animals
  • Animals, Genetically Modified
  • Cell Differentiation
  • Dopaminergic Neurons/metabolism*
  • Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental
  • Mesencephalon/embryology
  • Mesencephalon/metabolism
  • Neurogenesis*
  • Wnt Signaling Pathway*
  • Zebrafish/embryology*
  • Zebrafish/genetics
  • beta Catenin/metabolism*
PubMed
35046434 Full text @ Sci. Rep.
Abstract
Wnt/β-catenin signaling contributes to patterning, proliferation, and differentiation throughout vertebrate neural development. Wnt/β-catenin signaling is important for mammalian midbrain dopaminergic neurogenesis, while little is known about its role in ventral forebrain dopaminergic development. Here, we focus on the A11-like, Otp-dependent diencephalospinal dopaminergic system in zebrafish. We show that Wnt ligands, receptors and extracellular antagonist genes are expressed in the vicinity of developing Otp-dependent dopaminergic neurons. Using transgenic Wnt/β-catenin-reporters, we found that Wnt/β-catenin signaling activity is absent from these dopaminergic neurons, but detected Wnt/β-catenin activity in cells adjacent to the caudal DC5/6 clusters of Otp-dependent dopaminergic neurons. Pharmacological manipulations of Wnt/β-catenin signaling activity, as well as heat-shock driven overexpression of Wnt agonists and antagonists, interfere with the development of DC5/6 dopaminergic neurons, such that Wnt/β-catenin activity positively correlates with their number. Wnt/β-catenin activity promoted dopaminergic development specifically at stages when DC5/6 dopaminergic progenitors are in a proliferative state. Our data suggest that Wnt/β-catenin signaling acts in a spatially and temporally restricted manner on proliferative dopaminergic progenitors in the hypothalamus to positively regulate the size of the dopaminergic neuron groups DC5 and DC6.
Genes / Markers
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Expression
Phenotype
Mutations / Transgenics
Human Disease / Model
Sequence Targeting Reagents
Fish
Antibodies
Orthology
Engineered Foreign Genes
Mapping