Ferrying wingless across the synaptic cleft.

Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA.

Cell 2009 Oct 16

Secreted Wnt morphogens mediate cell-cell communication, but the mechanism of Wnt transfer between cells is unknown. Korkut et al. (2009) report that the transmembrane protein Evi is a versatile carrier that guides Wingless to presynaptic terminals of motor neurons and then escorts it across the synaptic cleft. In postsynaptic muscles, Evi promotes Frizzled-2 trafficking.