Journal
PLOS ONE
Volume 15, Issue 1, Pages -Publisher
PUBLIC LIBRARY SCIENCE
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0226928
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Funding
- Ludwig Cancer Foundation
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute
- NIH [R01-DK115728, DK085527]
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Secreted R-spondin1-4 proteins (RSPO1-4) orchestrate stem cell renewal and tissue homeostasis by potentiating Wnt/beta-catenin signaling. RSPOs induce the turnover of negative Wnt regulators RNF43 and ZNRF3 through a process that requires RSPO interactions with Leucine-rich repeat-containing G-protein coupled receptors (LGRs), or through an LGR-independent mechanism that is enhanced by RSPO binding to heparin sulfate proteoglycans (HSPGs). Here, we describe the engineering of `surrogate RSPOs' that function independently of LGRs to potentiate Wnt signaling on cell types expressing a target surface marker. These bispecific proteins were generated by fusing an RNF43-or ZNRF3-specific single chain antibody variable fragment (scFv) to the immune cytokine IL-2. Surrogate RSPOs mimic the function of natural RSPOs by crosslinking the extracellular domain (ECD) of RNF43 or ZNRF3 to the ECD of the IL-2 receptor CD25, which sequesters the complex and results in highly selective amplification of Wnt signaling on CD25+ cells. Furthermore, surrogate RSPOs were able substitute for wild type RSPO in a colon organoid growth assay when intestinal stem cells were transduced to express CD25. Our results provide proof-ofconcept for a technology that may be adapted for use on a broad range of cell-or tissuetypes and will open new avenues for the development of Wnt-based therapeutics for regenerative medicine.
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