Open AccessLysosomes are required for early dorsal signaling in the Xenopus embryo
Author(s) -
Nydia TejedaMuñoz,
Edward M. De Robertis
Publication year - 2022
Publication title -
proceedings of the national academy of sciences of the united states of america
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 5.011
H-Index - 771
eISSN - 1091-6490
pISSN - 0027-8424
DOI - 10.1073/pnas.2201008119
Subject(s) - microbiology and biotechnology , wnt signaling pathway , biology , xenopus , lysosome , endosome , signal transduction , biochemistry , intracellular , gene , enzyme
Significance The dorsal axis of the vertebrateXenopus embryo is established by an early Wnt signal generated by a rotation of the cortex of the egg toward the opposite side of the sperm entry point. In this study, we report that lysosomal cathepsin D becomes activated on the dorsal marginal zone of the embryo already at the 64-cell stage, and that this asymmetry is enhanced by increasing Wnt signaling levels. We present experiments showing that lysosome acidification, macropinocytosis, and multivesicular body formation are required for the endogenous dorsal signal provided maternally in the egg. The results indicate that the cell biology of lysosomes plays an essential role in vertebrate development.