Dishevelled (Dvl-2) activates canonical Wnt signalling in the absence of cytoplasmic puncta

Abstract

Dishevelled family proteins are multidomain intracellular transducers of Wnt signals. Ectopically expressed mammalian Dishevelled 2 (Dvl-2) activates downstream signalling and localises to cytoplasmic puncta. It has been suggested that these Dvl-2-containing structures correspond to intracellular vesicles and may be involved in the Wnt signal transduction process. We report that cytoplasmic puncta are primarily formed in cells expressing Dvl-2 at high levels. Lower levels of expression can activate signalling without forming puncta. The structures do not localise with markers of the early or late endocytic pathway and time-lapse analysis demonstrates that Dvl-2 puncta move in a random fashion over short distances but do not originate from the plasma membrane. Based on our findings, we propose that Dvl-2 puncta are protein aggregates that are not required for signalling.