The segment polarity gene wingless is the Drosophila ortholog of mouse Wnt-1, a proto-oncogene capable of causing transformation of mammary epithelial cells. These two genes presently represent the best studied members of the Wnt gene family. To evaluate the functional significance of the sequence conservation between wingless and Wnt-1, we have examined the effects of expressing the Drosophila gene in mouse mammary epithelial cell lines, wingless induced morphological transformation, focus formation, and mitogenesis in confluent cultures of these cells, with resulting phenotypes comparable to those obtained with mouse Wnt-1. In addition, RAC311c mammary cells expressing wingless were tumorigenic, indicating that the Drosophila gene is capable of inducing full neoplastic transformation. In cell co-culture experiments, wingless caused transformation via a paracrine mechanism, consistent with the extracellular location of its product and its proposed mechanism of action in Drosophila embryos. Our results indicate that wingless is functionally analogous to Wnt-1 in these mammary cell transformation assays and imply a striking conservation in the properties of the two gene products and their mechanisms of action.
Pathway to Independence programme
We’re excited to announce our new Pathway to Independence programme, aimed at supporting postdocs as they go on the job market. Find out more about the scheme in our Editorial.
Call for papers: Metabolic and Nutritional Control of Development and Regeneration
We are welcoming submissions for our next special issue, which will focus on metabolic and nutritional control of development and regeneration. Submission deadline: 15 May 2023.
Webinar: Increasing the visibility and impact of your research
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Would you like to increase the visibility and impact of your research and raise your profile internationally? If so, register for the very practical webinar we are running in association with HUBS on 23 February 2023.
Transitions in development: Daniel Grimes
Daniel Grimes’s lab studies the consequences of ciliary mutations, including left-right patterning defects and scoliosis. We interviewed Daniel to find out more about his career path, his experience of becoming a group leader and the influence of Jurassic Park.
Preprints in Development
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As part of our efforts to support the use of preprints and help curate the preprint literature, we are delighted to launch a new article type: ‘In preprints’. These pieces will discuss one or more recent preprints and place them in a broader context.
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