期刊名称:Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
印刷版ISSN:0027-8424
电子版ISSN:1091-6490
出版年度:2018
卷号:115
期号:10
页码:E2254-E2263
DOI:10.1073/pnas.1717468115
语种:English
出版社:The National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
摘要:Growing axons are exposed to various guidance cues en route to their targets, but the mechanisms that govern the response of growth cones to combinations of signals remain largely elusive. Here, we found that the sole Robo receptor, SAX-3, in Caenorhabditis elegans functions as a coreceptor for Wnt/CWN-2 molecules. SAX-3 binds to Wnt/CWN-2 and facilitates the membrane recruitment of CWN-2. SAX-3 forms a complex with the Ror/CAM-1 receptor and its downstream effector Dsh/DSH-1, promoting signal transduction from Wnt to Dsh. sax-3 functions in Wnt-responsive cells and the SAX-3 receptor is restricted to the side of the cell from which the neurite is extended. DSH-1 has a similar asymmetric distribution, which is disrupted by sax-3 mutation. Taking these results together, we propose that Robo receptor can function as a Wnt coreceptor to regulate Wnt-mediated biological processes in vivo.