The mouse Engrailed-1 gene and ventral limb patterning (original) (raw)

Nature volume 382, pages 360–363 (1996)Cite this article

Abstract

DURING vertebrate limb development, positional information must be specified along three distinct axes. Although much progress has been made in our understanding of the molecular interactions involved in anterior–posterior and proximal–distal limb patterning, less is known about dorsal–ventral patterning1–3. The genes Wnt-7a and Lmx-1, which are expressed in dorsal limb ectoderm and mesqderm, respectively, are thought to be important regulators of dorsal limb differentiation4–6. Whether a complementary set of molecules controls ventral limb development has not been clear. Here we report that Engrailed-1, a homeodomain-containing transcription factor expressed in embryonic ventral limb ectoderm7–8, is essential for ventral limb patterning. Loss of Engrailed-1 function in mice results in dorsal transformations of ventral paw structures, and in subtle alterations along the proximal–distal limb axis. Engrailed-1 seems to act in part by repressing dorsal differentiation induced by Wnt-7a, and is essential for proper formation of the apical ectodermal ridge.

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Author notes

  1. Mark Hanks
    Present address: The Proctor and Gamble Company, Miami Valley Laboratories, Route 27, 11810 East Miami River Road, Ross, Ohio, 45061, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Ronald O. Perelman Department of Dermatology, New York Univeristy Medical School, 550 First Avenue, New York, New York, 10016, USA
    Cynthia A. Loomis
  2. Departments of Cell Biology, and Physiology and Neuroscience, New York Univeristy Medical School, 550 First Avenue, New York, New York, 10016, USA
    Alexandra L. Joyner
  3. Developmental Genetics Program, Skirball Institute of Biomolecular Medicine, New York University Medical School, 540 First Avenue, New York, New York, 10016, USA
    Cynthia A. Loomis, Esther Harris, Mark Hanks & Alexandra L. Joyner
  4. Institut D'Embryologie Cellulaire et Moléculaire Du Collège De France et du CNRS, 49 bis, avenue de la Belle Gabrielle, 94736, Nogent-sur-Marne, France
    Jacques Michaud
  5. GSF-Research Center, Ingolstaedter Landstrasse 1, Obserchleissheim-Munich, D-85758, Germany
    Wolfgang Wurst

Authors

  1. Cynthia A. Loomis
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  2. Esther Harris
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  3. Jacques Michaud
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  4. Wolfgang Wurst
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  5. Mark Hanks
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  6. Alexandra L. Joyner
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Loomis, C., Harris, E., Michaud, J. et al. The mouse Engrailed-1 gene and ventral limb patterning.Nature 382, 360–363 (1996). https://doi.org/10.1038/382360a0

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