Wnt/[beta]-catenin signaling promotes neurogenesis in the diencephalospinal dopaminergic system of embryonic zebrafish

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

Object Details

• Location: Deutsche Nationalbibliothek Frankfurt am Main
• Extent: Online-Ressource
• Language: Englisch
• Notes: Scientific reports. - 12, 1 (2022) , 1030, ISSN: 2045-2322

Contributors, Places and Time

• Event: Veröffentlichung
• (where): Freiburg
• (who): Universität
• (when): 2022
• Creator: Westphal, Markus ; Panza, Paolo ; Kastenhuber, Edda ; Wehrle, Johanna ; Driever, Wolfgang

Further information

• DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-04833-8
• URN: urn:nbn:de:bsz:25-freidok-2253985
• Rights: Kein Open Access; Der Zugriff auf das Objekt ist unbeschränkt möglich.
• Last update: 25.03.2025, 1:41 PM CET