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Hindbrain patterning revisited: timing and effects of retinoic acid signalling
Author(s) -
Begemann Gerrit,
Meyer Axel
Publication year - 2001
Publication title -
bioessays
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.175
H-Index - 184
eISSN - 1521-1878
pISSN - 0265-9247
DOI - 10.1002/bies.1142
Subject(s) - hindbrain , retinoic acid , retinoid , biology , retinoid x receptor , signalling , microbiology and biotechnology , neuroscience , forebrain , embryo , genetics , nuclear receptor , gene , transcription factor , central nervous system
Retinoids play a critical role in patterning, segmentation, and neurogenesis of the posterior hindbrain and it has been proposed that they act as a posteriorising signal during hindbrain development. Until now, direct evidence that endogenous retinoid signalling acts through a gradient to specify cell fates along the anteroposterior axis has been missing. Two recent studies tested the requirement for retinoid signalling in the developing hindbrain through systematic application of a pan‐retinoic acid receptor antagonist.(1,2) They demonstrate a stage‐dependent requirement for increasing retinoid signalling activity along the hindbrain that proceeds from anterior to posterior. Together these findings challenge the concept of a stable gradient of retinoic acid across the hindbrain and warrant a re‐interpretation of the phenotypes obtained by genetic and nutritional disruption of retinoid signalling in the amniote embryo. BioEssays 23:981–986, 2001. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.