Article abstract
Nature Cell Biology 4, 20 - 25 (2001)
Published online: 19 November 2001 | doi:10.1038/ncb716
There is a Corrigendum (June 2002) associated with this Article.
The planar cell-polarity gene stbm regulates cell behaviour and cell fate in vertebrate embryos
Maiyon Park1 & Randall T. Moon1
Abstract
The gene strabismus (stbm)/Van Gogh (Vang) functions in the planar cell-polarity pathway in Drosophila. As the existence of such a pathway in vertebrates has not been firmly established, we investigated the functions and signalling activities encoded by stbm in vertebrate embryos. In regard to cell fate, inhibition of Stbm function in zebrafish embryos leads to reduction of anterior neural markers, whereas gain of function leads to a rise in the levels of these markers. In regard to cell behaviour, both gain-of-function and loss-of-function assays reveal a role for Stbm in mediating cell movements during gastrulation. Mechanistically, Stbm inhibits Wnt-mediated activation of 
-catenin-dependent transcription while promoting phosphorylation of c-Jun- and AP-1-dependent transcription. This complex effect on intracellular signalling pathways probably involves dishevelled (dsh), as Stbm was found to interact with the Dsh protein, and as Dsh is known to function in both planar cell-polarity and -catenin pathways in Drosophila.
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Department of Pharmacology and Center for Developmental Biology, Box 357370, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, Washington 98195, USA
Correspondence to: Randall T. Moon1 e-mail: rtmoon@u.washington.edu
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