Neurogenesis redirects β-catenin from adherens junctions to the nucleus to promote axonal growth.

Antonio Herrera, Anghara Menendez, Andrea Ochoa, Lídia Bardia, Julien Colombelli, Sebastian Pons

Development (Cambridge, England) 2023 Aug 15

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Here, we show that, in the developing spinal cord, after the early Wnt-mediated Tcf transcription activation that confers dorsal identity to neural stem cells, neurogenesis redirects β-catenin from the adherens junctions to the nucleus to stimulate Tcf-dependent transcription in a Wnt-independent manner. This new β-catenin activity regulates genes implicated in several aspects of contralateral axon growth, including axon guidance and adhesion. Using live imaging of ex-vivo chick neural tube, we showed that the nuclear accumulation of β-catenin and the rise in Tcf-dependent transcription both initiate before the dismantling of the adherens junctions and remain during the axon elongation process. Notably, we demonstrated that β-catenin activity in post-mitotic cells depends on TCF7L2 and is central to spinal commissural axon growth. Together, our results reveal Wnt-independent Tcf/β-catenin regulation of genes that control the growth and guidance of commissural axons in chick spinal cord. © 2023. Published by The Company of Biologists Ltd.

Citation

Antonio Herrera, Anghara Menendez, Andrea Ochoa, Lídia Bardia, Julien Colombelli, Sebastian Pons. Neurogenesis redirects β-catenin from adherens junctions to the nucleus to promote axonal growth. Development (Cambridge, England). 2023 Aug 15;150(16)