Speaker: Stephanie Grainger, San Diego State University assistant professor of biology

Title: "Deciphering Wnt/Fzd specificity using zebrafish hematopoietic stem cell development"

Abstract: Our understanding of how specific Wnt signals are initiated and relayed from the cell membrane to the nucleus have in part been hampered by the widely held belief that Wnt ligand interactions with Frizzled (Fzd) receptors are promiscuous, and lead to the same intracellular events. We have found that at least some Wnt/Fzd pairings have specific downstream signals and cannot be compensated for with others. 

Wnt signals are generally initiated when one of many (19+) Wnt ligands interacts with one of several (10+) Frizzled (Fzd) receptors, and other co-receptors, such as the Lipoprotein-rich proteins (LRP)5/6. This diversity allows for a multitude of potential pairings, and likely leads to unique intracellular events and downstream signals. Since we discovered the exquisitely specific pairing of Wnt9a and Fzd9b using a combination of zebrafish and human cell culture approaches, we are now investigating mechanisms for Wnt/Fzd signaling specificity.

Meeting link: https://iastate.webex.com/iastate/j.php?MTID=mb238d165439455f48123c9a3d116aef8

Stephanie Grainger flyer