Premium
Heterogeneity in readouts of canonical wnt pathway activity within intestinal crypts
Author(s) -
Li Ning,
Yousefi Maryam,
NakaukaDdamba Angela,
Tobias John W.,
Jensen Shane T.,
Morrisey Edward E.,
Lengner Christopher J.
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
developmental dynamics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.634
H-Index - 141
eISSN - 1097-0177
pISSN - 1058-8388
DOI - 10.1002/dvdy.24423
Subject(s) - axin2 , wnt signaling pathway , biology , stem cell , crypt , microbiology and biotechnology , genetics , cell fate determination , gene , signal transduction , transcription factor , endocrinology
Background: Canonical Wnt pathway signaling is necessary for maintaining the proliferative capacity of mammalian intestinal crypt base columnar stem cells (CBCs). Furthermore, dysregulation of the Wnt pathway is a major contributor to disease, including oncogenic transformation of the intestinal epithelium. Given the critical importance of this pathway, numerous tools have been used as proxy measures for Wnt pathway activity, yet the relationship between Wnt target gene expression and reporter allele activity within individual cells at the crypt base remains unclear. Results: Here, we describe a novel Axin2‐CreERT2‐tdTomato allele that efficiently marks both Wnt High CBCs and radioresistant reserve intestinal stem cells. We analyze the molecular and functional identity of Axin2‐CreERT2‐tdTomato‐ marked cells using single cell gene expression profiling and tissue regeneration assays and find that Axin2 reporter activity does not necessarily correlate with expression of Wnt target genes and, furthermore, that Wnt target genes themselves vary in their expression patterns at the crypt base. Conclusions: Wnt target genes and reporter alleles can vary greatly in their cell‐type specificity, demonstrating that these proxies cannot be used interchangeably. Furthermore, Axin2‐CreERT2‐tdTomato is a robust marker of both active and reserve intestinal stem cells and is thus useful for understanding the intestinal stem cell compartment. Developmental Dynamics 245:822–833, 2016 . © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.