Tailored tetravalent antibodies potently and specifically activate Wnt/Frizzled pathways in cells, organoids and mice.
Elife
; 82019 08 27.
Article
in En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-31452509
ABSTRACT
Secreted Wnt proteins regulate development and adult tissue homeostasis by binding and activating cell-surface Frizzled receptors and co-receptors including LRP5/6. The hydrophobicity of Wnt proteins has complicated their purification and limited their use in basic research and as therapeutics. We describe modular tetravalent antibodies that can recruit Frizzled and LRP5/6 in a manner that phenocopies the activities of Wnts both in vitro and in vivo. The modular nature of these synthetic Frizzled and LRP5/6 Agonists, called FLAgs, enables tailored engineering of specificity for one, two or multiple members of the Frizzled family. We show that FLAgs underlie differentiation of pluripotent stem cells, sustain organoid growth, and activate stem cells in vivo. Activation of Wnt signaling circuits with tailored FLAgs will enable precise delineation of functional outcomes directed by distinct receptor combinations and could provide a new class of therapeutics to unlock the promise of regenerative medicine.
Key words
Full text:
1
Collection:
01-internacional
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Frizzled Receptors
/
Wnt Signaling Pathway
/
Antibodies
Limits:
Animals
/
Humans
Language:
En
Journal:
Elife
Year:
2019
Document type:
Article
Affiliation country:
Canada
Publication country:
ENGLAND
/
ESCOCIA
/
GB
/
GREAT BRITAIN
/
INGLATERRA
/
REINO UNIDO
/
SCOTLAND
/
UK
/
UNITED KINGDOM