Imaging transcription factors dynamics with advanced fluorescence microscopy methods
Publication date: Available online 10 May 2018 Source:Mechanisms of Development Author(s): Paula Verneri, Juan José Romero, María Cecilia De Rossi, Yanina Alvarez, Camila Oses, Alejandra Guberman, Valeria Levi Pluripotent stem cells (PSCs) are capable of self-renewing and producing all cell types derived from the three germ layers in response to developmental cues, constituting an important promise for regenerative medicine. Pluripotency depends on specific transcription factors (TFs) that induce genes required to preserve the undifferentiated state and repress other genes related to differentiation. The transcr...
Source: Mechanisms of Development - May 17, 2018 Category: Biology Source Type: research
Distinct roles for the cell adhesion molecule Contactin2 in the development and function of neural circuits in zebrafish
Publication date: Available online 17 May 2018 Source:Mechanisms of Development Author(s): Suman Gurung, Emilia Asante, Devynn Hummel, Ashley Williams, Oren Feldman-Schultz, Mary C. Halloran, Vinoth Sittaramane, Anand Chandrasekhar Contactin2 (Cntn2)/Transient Axonal Glycoprotein 1 (Tag1), a neural cell adhesion molecule, has established roles in neuronal migration and axon fasciculation in chick and mouse. In zebrafish, antisense morpholino-based studies have indicated roles for cntn2 in the migration of facial branchiomotor (FBM) neurons, the guidance of the axons of the nucleus of the medial longitudinal fasci...
Source: Mechanisms of Development - May 17, 2018 Category: Biology Source Type: research
Genetic interaction between Gli3 and Ezh2 during limb pattern formation
Publication date: Available online 2 May 2018 Source:Mechanisms of Development Author(s): Steven J. Deimling, Kimberly Lau, Chi-chung Hui, Sevan Hopyan Anteroposterior polarity of the early limb bud is essential for proper skeletal pattern formation. In order to establish anterior identity, hedgehog signalling needs to be repressed by GLI3 repressor activity, although the mechanism of repression is not well defined. Here we describe genetic interaction between Gli3 and Enhancer of Zeste 2 (Ezh2) that encodes the histone methyltransferase subunit of Polycomb Repressive Complex 2. Loss of anterior limb identity was evi...
Source: Mechanisms of Development - May 3, 2018 Category: Biology Source Type: research
Prmt1 regulates craniofacial bone formation upstream of Msx1
Publication date: Available online 1 May 2018 Source:Mechanisms of Development Author(s): Yongchao Gou, Jingyuan Li, Jian Wu, Rahul Gupta, Ihnbae Cho, Thach-Vu Ho, Yang Chai, Amy Merrill, Jun Wang, Jian Xu Protein arginine methylation has been recently identified as an important form of post-translational modification (PTM). It is carried out by the protein arginine methyltransferase (PRMT) family of enzymes, which in mammals consists of nine members. Among them, PRMT1 is the major arginine methyltransferase and participates in transcription, signal transduction, development and cancer. The function of PRMT1 in...
Source: Mechanisms of Development - May 2, 2018 Category: Biology Source Type: research
CTCF knockout reveals an essential role for this protein during the zebrafish development
In conclusion, CTCF is a ubiquitous factor during the zebrafish development, which regulates the correct formation of different structures of the embryo, and its deregulation impacts on essential cell survival genes. Overall, this work provides a basis to look for the particular functions of CTCF in the different developing tissues and organs of the zebrafish. (Source: Mechanisms of Development)
Source: Mechanisms of Development - May 1, 2018 Category: Biology Source Type: research
The biology and evolution of the Dilp8-Lgr3 pathway: A relaxin-like pathway coupling tissue growth and developmental timing control
Publication date: Available online 30 April 2018 Source:Mechanisms of Development Author(s): Alisson M. Gontijo, Andres Garelli Many insects, like cockroaches, moths, and flies, can regenerate tissues by extending the growth-competent phases of their life cycle. The molecular and cellular players mediating this coordination between tissue growth and developmental timing have been recently discovered in Drosophila. The insulin/relaxin-like peptide, Dilp8, was identified as a factor communicating abnormal growth status of Drosophila larval imaginal discs to the neuroendocrine centers that control the timing of the onset ...
Source: Mechanisms of Development - April 30, 2018 Category: Biology Source Type: research
Regulation mechanisms and implications of sperm membrane hyperpolarization
Publication date: Available online 22 April 2018 Source:Mechanisms of Development Author(s): Carla Ritagliati, Carolina Baró Graf, Cintia Stival, Dario Krapf Mammalian sperm are unable to fertilize the egg immediately after ejaculation. In order to gain fertilization competence, they need to undergo a series of biochemical and physiological modifications inside the female reproductive tract, known as capacitation. Capacitation correlates with two essential events for fertilization: hyperactivation, an asymmetric and vigorous flagellar motility, and the ability to undergo the acrosome reaction. At a molecular level, ...
Source: Mechanisms of Development - April 23, 2018 Category: Biology Source Type: research
The role of the Rx homeobox gene in retinal progenitor proliferation and cell fate specification
Publication date: Available online 14 April 2018 Source:Mechanisms of Development Author(s): H.M. Rodgers, V.J. Huffman, V.A. Voronina, M. Lewandoski, P.H. Mathers The Retinal homeobox gene (Rx; also Rax) plays a crucial role in the early development of the vertebrate eye. Germline deletion of Rx in mice results in the failure of optic vesicle formation, leading to anophthalmia. Recent research using conditional mouse knockout models provides some clues to the role of Rx in eye development following optic vesicle formation. However, the functions of Rx in embryonic retinogenesis are still not fully understood. We in...
Source: Mechanisms of Development - April 14, 2018 Category: Biology Source Type: research
Emerging role of dynamic RNA modifications during animal development
Publication date: Available online 11 April 2018 Source:Mechanisms of Development Author(s): Estefanía Sánchez-Vásquez, Nagif Alata Jimenez, Nicolás A. Vázquez, Pablo H. Strobl-Mazzulla The central dogma of molecular biology statically says that the information flows from DNA to messenger RNA to protein. But the recent advances in mass spectrometry and high throughput technology have helped the scientists to view RNA as little more than a courier of genetic information encoded in the DNA. The dynamics of RNA modifications in coding and non-coding RNAs are just emerging as a carrier of non-genetic information, un...
Source: Mechanisms of Development - April 12, 2018 Category: Biology Source Type: research
Ift25 is not a cystic kidney disease gene but is required for early steps of kidney development
Publication date: Available online 4 April 2018 Source:Mechanisms of Development Author(s): Paurav B. Desai, Jovenal T. San Agustin, Michael W. Stuck, Julie A. Jonassen, Carlton M. Bates, Gregory J. Pazour Eukaryotic cilia are assembled by intraflagellar transport (IFT) where large protein complexes called IFT particles move ciliary components from the cell body to the cilium. Defects in most IFT particle proteins disrupt ciliary assembly and cause mid gestational lethality in the mouse. IFT25 and IFT27 are unusual components of IFT-B in that they are not required for ciliary assembly and mutant mice survive to ter...
Source: Mechanisms of Development - April 5, 2018 Category: Biology Source Type: research
Early postnatal development of the visual cortex in mice with retinal degeneration
This study characterizes the early postnatal development of the visual neocortex in C3H/HeNRj mice. These mice are homozygous for the Pde6brd1 mutation, which causes retinal degeneration starting from postnatal day 7 (P7). To monitor the development of the visual cortex between P3 and P28 we used eight antigens known to be expressed at different developmental stages (Nestin, tau3, β3- Tubulin, Calbindin, Doublecortin, MAP2, Parvalbumin and NeuN). Using semiquantitative analysis we traced the expression and localization of different developmental markers throughout the layers of the visual cortex. Cortical tissue sections ...
Source: Mechanisms of Development - March 19, 2018 Category: Biology Source Type: research
Neural crest development in Xenopus requires Protocadherin 7 at the lateral neural crest border
Publication date: February 2018 Source:Mechanisms of Development, Volume 149 Author(s): R.S. Bradley (Source: Mechanisms of Development)
Source: Mechanisms of Development - March 11, 2018 Category: Biology Source Type: research
NANOS2 acts as an intrinsic regulator of gonocytes-to-spermatogonia transition in the murine testes
Publication date: February 2018 Source:Mechanisms of Development, Volume 149 Author(s): Han Pin Pui, Yumiko Saga In the male mouse embryos, the primordial germ cells colonize the developing testes at E11.5. These resident germ cells termed gonocytes are the predecessors of spermatogonial stem cells (SSCs) and differentiating spermatogonia. Both of which are essential for male fertility where the former maintains the continuity of spermatogenesis and the latter generates pioneering waves of spermatozoa. Therefore the timely initiation of gonocytes-to-spermatogonia transition (GST) is an important process during which th...
Source: Mechanisms of Development - March 11, 2018 Category: Biology Source Type: research
Metabo-Devo: A metabolic perspective of development
Publication date: Available online 21 February 2018 Source:Mechanisms of Development Author(s): Lautaro Gándara, Pablo Wappner In the last years, several reports have established the notion that metabolism is not just a housekeeping process, but instead an active effector of physiological changes. The idea that the metabolic status may rule a wide range of phenomena in cell biology is starting to be broadly accepted. Thus, current developmental biology has begun to describe different ways by which the metabolic profile of the cell and developmental programs of the organism can crosstalk. In this review, we discuss mec...
Source: Mechanisms of Development - March 11, 2018 Category: Biology Source Type: research
An analysis of anterior segment development in the chicken eye
Publication date: Available online 8 March 2018 Source:Mechanisms of Development Author(s): Violeta Trejo-Reveles, Lynn McTeir, Kim Summers, Joe Rainger Precise anterior segment (AS) development in the vertebrate eye is essential for maintaining ocular health throughout life. Disruptions to genetic programs can lead to severe structural AS disorders at birth, while more subtle AS defects may disrupt the drainage of ocular fluids and cause dysregulation of intraocular pressure homeostasis, leading to progressive vision loss. To date, the mouse has served as the major model to study AS development and pathogenesis. Her...
Source: Mechanisms of Development - March 11, 2018 Category: Biology Source Type: research
