Prickle and Ror modulate Dishevelled-Vangl interaction to regulate non-canonical Wnt signaling during convergent extension in Xenopus

Convergent extension (CE) is a fundamental morphogenetic process where oriented cell behaviors lead to polarized extension of diverse tissues. In vertebrates, regulation of CE requires both non-canonical Wnt, its co-receptor Ror, and several ‘core members’ of the planar cell polarity (PCP) pathway. PCP was originally identified as a mechanism to coordinate the cellular polarity in the plane of static epithelium, where core proteins Frizzled (Fz)/Dishevelled (Dvl) and Van Gogh-like (Vangl)/Prickle (Pk) partition to opposing cell cortex. But how core PCP proteins interact with each other to mediate non-canonical Wnt/Ror signaling during CE is not clear. We found previously that during CE, Vangl cell-autonomously recruits Dvl to the plasma membrane and keeps Dvl inactive. In this study, we show that non-canonical Wnt induces Dvl to transition from Vangl to Fz in Xenopus embryos. Pk inhibits the transition and functionally synergizes with Vangl to suppress Dvl during CE. Conversely, Ror is required for the transition and functionally antagonizes Vangl. Biochemically, Vangl interacts directly with both Ror and Dvl. Ror and Dvl do not bind directly but can be co-fractionated with Vangl. Collectively, we propose that Pk assists Vangl to function as an unconventional adaptor that brings Dvl and Ror into a complex to serve two functions: (1) simultaneously preventing both Dvl and Ror from ectopically activating non-canonical Wnt signaling; and (2) relaying Dvl to Fz for signaling activation upon non-canonical Wnt-induced dimerization of Fz and Ror.