Wingless Repression of Drosophila frizzled 2 Expression Shapes the Wingless Morphogen Gradient in the Wing

作者：Ken M. Cadigan, Matthew Fish, Eric J. Rulifson, Roel Nusse · 发表于：Cell · 年份：1998 · DOI：10.1016/s0092-8674(00)81438-5 · 被引用次数：335 · 研究领域：Wnt/β-catenin signaling in development and cancer、Developmental Biology and Gene Regulation、Hippo pathway signaling and YAP/TAZ

In Drosophila wing imaginal discs, the Wingless (Wg) protein acts as a morphogen, emanating from the dorsal/ventral (D/V) boundary of the disc to directly define cell identities along the D/V axis at short and long range. Here, we show that high levels of a Wg receptor, Drosophila frizzled 2 (Dfz2), stabilize Wg, allowing it to reach cells far from its site of synthesis. Wg signaling represses Dfz2 expression, creating a gradient of decreasing Wg stability moving toward the D/V boundary. This repression of Dfz2 is crucial for the normal shape of Wg morphogen gradient as well as the response of cells to the Wg signal. In contrast to other ligand-receptor relationships where the receptor limits diffusion of the ligand, Dfz2 broadens the range of Wg action by protecting it from degradation.