HGNC Approved Gene Symbol: WNT8B
Cytogenetic location: 10q24.31 Genomic coordinates (GRCh38): 10:100,463,009-100,483,744 (from NCBI)
WNT genes encode intercellular signaling glycoproteins that play important roles in key processes of embryonic development such as mesoderm induction, specification of the embryonic axis, and patterning of the central nervous system, spinal cord, and limbs. The name WNT denotes the relationship of this family to the Drosophila segment polarity gene 'wingless,' and to its vertebrate ortholog Int1, a mouse protooncogene; see WNT1 (164820).
Lako et al. (1996) noted that multiple WNT genes are known to exist in several species that have been investigated ranging from Drosophila to man. They have been classified into various groups and subgroups on the basis of high sequence homology and common expression patterns. The vertebrate WNT8 subfamily includes genes from Xenopus, zebrafish, and chicken; Lako et al. (1996) characterized the first mammalian WNT8 homolog, a human member of the Wnt8 family that they termed WNT8B on the basis of the very high sequence similarity (approximately 90% identity) of the inferred protein to those encoded by the Xenopus and zebrafish Wnt8b genes. The human cDNA encodes a polypeptide that contains a C2H2 zinc finger-like motif.
Lako et al. (1998) presented the full-length cDNA sequence and genomic organization of the human WNT8B gene and reported studies of expression of the gene in human and mouse embryos. The gene is expressed predominantly as a transcript of approximately 2.1 kb. The human and mouse expression patterns appeared to be identical and were restricted to the developing brain, with the great majority of expression being found in the developing forebrain. In the latter case, expression was confined to the germinative neuroepithelium of 3 sharply delimited regions: the dorsomedial wall of the telencephalic ventricles (which includes the developing hippocampus), a discrete region of the dorsal thalamus, and the mammillary and retromammillary regions of the posterior hypothalamus. Expression in the developing hippocampus may suggest a role for WNT8B in patterning of this region.
Lako et al. (1998) noted that the WNT8B gene contains 6 exons separated by small introns, with the exception of intron 1. The predicted protein has 351 amino acids.
Using antisense morpholino oligos to inhibit the translation of Wnt transcripts in zebrafish, Houart et al. (2002) concluded that Wnt8b is a posteriorizing signal expressed in prospective posterior forebrain and midbrain. They also identified Wnt8b as a likely target for antagonism by Tlc (GenBank AF520426), a zebrafish gene related to human SFRP1 (604156) and SFRP5 (604158). The authors hypothesized that local antagonism of Wnt activity within the anterior ectoderm is required to establish the telencephalon during gastrulation.
By use of PCR typing of a human monochromosomal hybrid cell panel, Lako et al. (1996) mapped the WNT8B gene to chromosome 10. They refined the localization to 10q24 by fluorescence in situ hybridization.
Lako et al. (1998) suggested WNT8B as a candidate gene for partial epilepsy (EPT; 600512) in families in which the disease has been linked to markers in the 10q23-q24 region.
Houart, C., Caneparo, L., Heisenberg, C.-P., Barth, K. A., Take-Uchi, M., Wilson, S. W. Establishment of the telencephalon during gastrulation by local antagonism of Wnt signaling. Neuron 35: 255-265, 2002. [PubMed: 12160744] [Full Text: https://doi.org/10.1016/s0896-6273(02)00751-1]
Lako, M., Lindsay, S., Bullen, P., Wilson, D. I., Robson, S. C., Strachan, T. A novel mammalian Wnt gene, WNT8B, shows brain-restricted expression in early development, with sharply delimited expression boundaries in the developing forebrain. Hum. Molec. Genet. 7: 813-822, 1998. [PubMed: 9536085] [Full Text: https://doi.org/10.1093/hmg/7.5.813]
Lako, M., Strachan, T., Curtis, A. R. J., Lindsay, S. Isolation and characterization of WNT8B, a novel human Wnt gene that maps to 10q24. Genomics 35: 386-388, 1996. [PubMed: 8661156] [Full Text: https://doi.org/10.1006/geno.1996.0374]