Ahmed: The guts of Wnt signal transduction. скачать в хорошем качестве

Ahmed: The guts of Wnt signal transduction.

Yashi Ahmed (Dartmouth Medical School) presents "The guts of Wnt signal transduction" at the 59th Annual Drosophila Research Conference, April 11-15, 2018. http://conferences.genetics-gsa.org/d... The signal transduction pathway activated by the secreted ligands Wnt/Wingless is essential for growth and patterning in metazoans, and aberrantly activated in the vast majority of colorectal cancers. We use a Drosophila model to study core principles that underlie Wnt pathway activation and to identify novel therapeutic targets to combat Wnt-driven disease. We have focused on a central regulatory complex comprised of the key tumor suppressor Adenomatous polyposis coli (APC), the essential scaffold protein Axin, and a regulator of Axin that is among the most promising therapeutic targets, the ADP-ribose polymerase Tankyrase. In addition, we are testing the long-held tenet that Wingless function requires spread from its site of synthesis to form a gradient that specifies distinct cell fates as a function of ligand concentration. Surprisingly, this view was recently upended by the completely unexpected finding that tethering of Wingless to the membrane produces adults with nearly normal external morphology, indicating that the spreading of Wingless is largely dispensable for tissue patterning. To confirm that Wingless spreading is also unnecessary for the patterning of internal organs, we are studying the adult gut, in which Wingless gradients are established during development and persist through adulthood, despite the regular turnover of the intestinal epithelium. More on genetics at the Genetics Society of America blog: http://genestogenomes.org