Morphogens are signaling molecules produced by a localized source, specifying cell fate in a graded manner. The source secretes morphogens into the extracellular milieu to activate various target genes in an autocrine or paracrine manner. Here we describe various secreted forms of two canonical morphogens, the lipid-anchored Hedgehog (Hh) and Wnts, indicating the involvement of multiple carriers in the transport of these morphogens. These different extracellular secreted forms are likely to have distinct functions. Here we evaluate newly identified mechanisms that morphogens use to traverse the required distance to activate discrete paracrine signaling.

中文翻译：

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Wnt 和 Hedgehog：脂质修饰的形态发生素的分泌。

形态发生素是由局部来源产生的信号分子，以分级方式指定细胞命运。源将形态发生素分泌到细胞外环境中，以自分泌或旁分泌方式激活各种靶基因。在这里，我们描述了两种典型形态发生素、脂质锚定 Hedgehog (Hh) 和 Wnts 的各种分泌形式，表明多种载体参与了这些形态发生素的运输。这些不同的细胞外分泌形式可能具有不同的功能。在这里，我们评估了形态发生素用来穿越所需距离以激活离散旁分泌信号传导的新发现的机制。