Figure 2: Lbx2 activates the Wnt/β-catenin signalling pathway.
From: Tissue-specific derepression of TCF/LEF controls the activity of the Wnt/β-catenin pathway
Compared with (a) WT, overexpression of Lbx2 (injection of 40 pg mRNA) results (b) in a strong extension of sp5l expression towards the animal pole similar to what is seen (c) with overexpression of Wnt8a (injection of 25 pg mRNA). Compared with WT (d,g), embryos overexpressing lbx2 show anterior head truncation at 36 hpf (e) and complete lack of the telencephalic marker emx1 (arrowhead) at early somitogenesis (h). (f,i) These phenotypes are fully rescued by MO knockdown of wnt8a. (j) TopFlash transcription assay: relative luciferase activity was measured after overexpression of Wnt8a and Lbx2 by mRNA injections or after MO knockdown. Data are from three independent experiments and expressed as the means with s.d.’s. Scale bar in d is equivalent to 100 μm (d–f). Scale bar in g is equivalent to 200 μm (a–c,g–i).
