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Regulation of Epha4 expression in paraxial and lateral plate mesoderm by ectoderm‐derived signals
Author(s) -
Schmidt Corina,
Christ Bodo,
Maden Malcolm,
BrandSaberi Beate,
Patel Ketan
Publication year - 2001
Publication title -
developmental dynamics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.634
H-Index - 141
eISSN - 1097-0177
pISSN - 1058-8388
DOI - 10.1002/dvdy.1117
Subject(s) - ectoderm , biology , mesoderm , microbiology and biotechnology , intermediate mesoderm , somitogenesis , lateral plate mesoderm , paraxial mesoderm , receptor protein tyrosine kinases , receptor tyrosine kinase , somite , anatomy , embryogenesis , signal transduction , embryonic stem cell , genetics , gastrulation , embryo , gene
Somitogenesis in all vertebrates involves a mesenchymal to epithelial transition of segmental plate cells. Such a transition involves cells altering their morphology and their adhesive properties. The Eph family of receptor tyrosine kinases has been postulated to regulate cytoskeletal organization. In this study, we show that a receptor belonging to this family, EphA4, is expressed in the segmental plate in a region where cells are undergoing changes in cell shape as a prelude to epithelialization. We have identified the ectoderm covering the somites and the midline ectoderm as sources of signals capable of inducing EphA4 . Loss of EphA4 results in cells of irregular morphology and somites fail to form. We also show that when somites fail to develop, expression of EphA4 in the lateral plate is also lost. We suggest that signaling occurs between the somites and the lateral plate mesoderm and provide evidence that retinoic acid is involved in this communication. © 2001 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.