Mechanisms of Wnt protein secretion
Funding period: 2017-2025

Project Leaders
Abstract
Wnt proteins are lipidated glycoproteins which require a specialized secretion machinery for their export. Previously, we identified in genetic screens the Wnt cargo-receptor Evi/Wls as an essential factor for Wnt secretion and studied its role ex vivo and in vivo. Nevertheless, it remains currently unclear how Evi/Wls interacts on a molecular level with different proteins in the secretion and ERAD pathways in order to regulate the secretion of Wnt ligands. To address these questions, we will identify novel Wnt secretion components by a genetic screen in Drosophila, analyze the biochemical interactions and the structure of Evi/Wls with interacting proteins and will further characterize the functions of novel regulators.

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Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2022 Jul 26;119(30):e2122476119. doi: 10.1073/pnas.2122476119. Epub 2022 Jul 22. PMID: 35867833
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