Isolation and application of bioactive Wnt proteins

Methods Mol Biol. 2008:468:17-29. doi: 10.1007/978-1-59745-249-6_2.

Abstract

Wnt proteins and their signaling cascades are involved in a wide variety of developmental processes, and deregulation of this pathway is frequently associated with tumorigenesis. Unlike many other growth factors, Wnts long eluded biochemical purification, in large part because of their hydrophobic nature, which is imparted by one or more lipid modifications. Here I describe a complete protocol that outlines the purification process for Wnt proteins. While this protocol has not been applied to all known Wnt proteins, it has been successfully applied to the purification of a large subset of Wnts, including the very divergent Wnt protein, Drosophila Wnt8 (Dwnt8 or WntD), indicating that this protocol is likely applicable to all Wnts.

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Cell Line
  • Chromatography / instrumentation
  • Chromatography / methods*
  • Mice
  • Signal Transduction / physiology*
  • Wnt Proteins / isolation & purification*
  • Wnt Proteins / metabolism
  • Wnt3 Protein
  • beta Catenin / metabolism

Substances

  • Wnt Proteins
  • Wnt3 Protein
  • beta Catenin