CDB15:0001590 WNT3A — FZD8

ABSTRACT: The Wnt/β-catenin pathway controls cell proliferation, death and differentiation. Several families of extracellular proteins can antagonize Wnt/β-catenin signaling, including the decoy receptors known as secreted frizzled related proteins (SFRPs), which have a cysteine-rich domain (CRD) structurally similar to the extracellular Wnt-binding domain of the frizzled receptors. SFRPs inhibit Wnt signaling by sequestering Wnts through the CRD or by forming inactive complexes with the frizzled receptors. Other endogenous molecules carrying frizzled CRDs inhibit Wnt signaling, such as V3Nter, which is proteolytically derived from the cell surface component collagen XVIII and contains a biologically active frizzled domain (FZC18) inhibiting in vivo cell proliferation and tumor growth in mice. We recently showed that FZC18 expressing cells deliver short-range signals to neighboring cells, decreasing their proliferation in vitro and in vivo through the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway. Here, using low concentrations of soluble FZC18 and Wnt3a, we show that they physically interact in a cell-free system. In addition, soluble FZC18 binds the frizzled 1 and 8 receptors' CRDs, reducing cell sensitivity to Wnt3a. Conversely, inhibition of Wnt/β-catenin signaling was partially rescued by the expression of full-length frizzled 1 and 8 receptors, but enhanced by the expression of a chimeric cell-membrane-tethered frizzled 8 CRD. Moreover, soluble, partially purified recombinant FZC18_CRD inhibited Wnt3a-induced β-catenin activation. Taken together, the data indicate that collagen XVIII-derived frizzled CRD shifts Wnt sensitivity of normal cells to a lower pitch and controls their growth.

ABSTRACT: The seven-transmembrane-spanning receptors of the FZD1-10 class are bound and activated by the WNT family of lipoglycoproteins, thereby inducing a complex network of signaling pathways. However, the specificity of the interaction between mammalian WNT and FZD proteins and the subsequent signaling cascade downstream of the different WNT-FZD pairs have not been systematically addressed to date. In this study, we determined the binding affinities of various WNTs for different members of the FZD family by using bio-layer interferometry and characterized their functional selectivity in a cell system. Using purified WNTs, we show that different FZD cysteine-rich domains prefer to bind to distinct WNTs with fast on-rates and slow off-rates. In a 32D cell-based system engineered to overexpress FZD2, FZD4, or FZD5, we found that WNT-3A (but not WNT-4, -5A, or -9B) activated the WNT-β-catenin pathway through FZD2/4/5 as measured by phosphorylation of LRP6 and β-catenin stabilization. Surprisingly, different WNT-FZD pairs showed differential effects on phosphorylation of DVL2 and DVL3, revealing a previously unappreciated DVL isoform selectivity by different WNT-FZD pairs in 32D cells. In summary, we present extensive mapping of WNT-FZD cysteine-rich domain interactions complemented by analysis of WNT-FZD pair functionality in a unique cell system expressing individual FZD isoforms. Differential WNT-FZD binding and selective functional readouts suggest that endogenous WNT ligands evolved with an intrinsic natural bias toward different downstream signaling pathways, a phenomenon that could be of great importance in the design of FZD-targeting drugs.

ABSTRACT: WNT7A and WNT7B control CNS angiogenesis and blood-brain barrier formation by activating endothelial Wnt/β-catenin signaling. The GPI-anchored protein RECK and adhesion G protein-coupled receptor GPR124 critically regulate WNT7-specific signaling in concert with FZD and LRP co-receptors. Here, we demonstrate that primarily the GPR124 ectodomain, but not its transmembrane and intracellular domains, mediates RECK/WNT7-induced canonical Wnt signaling. Moreover, RECK is the predominant binding partner of GPR124 in rat brain blood vessels in situ. WNT7A and WNT7B, but not WNT3A, directly bind to purified recombinant soluble RECK, full-length cell surface RECK, and the GPR124:RECK complex. Chemical cross-linking indicates that RECK and WNT7A associate with 1:1 stoichiometry, which stabilizes short-lived, active, monomeric, hydrophobic WNT7A. In contrast, free WNT7A rapidly converts into inactive, hydrophilic aggregates. Overall, RECK is a selective WNT7 receptor that mediates GPR124/FZD/LRP-dependent canonical Wnt/β-catenin signaling by stabilizing active cell surface WNT7, suggesting isoform-specific regulation of Wnt bioavailability.