title: A truncated activin receptor inhibits mesoderm induction and formation of axial structures in Xenopus embryos.
abstract: Activins can induce mesoderm in embryonic explants and have been proposed as the natural inducer in Xenopus. A mutant activin receptor that inhibits activin signalling is used to show that activin is required for the induction of mesoderm in vivo and the patterning of the embryonic body plan. Blocking the activin signal transduction pathway also reveals autonomous induction of a neural marker and unmasks a relationship between activin and fibroblast growth factor.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hemmati-Brivanlou
authors.forename: D A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Melton
mesh_terms: D029404:Activin Receptors; D028341:Activins; D000818:Animals; D002454:Cell Differentiation; D015870:Gene Expression; D006133:Growth Substances / Q000502:physiology*; D007265:Inhibins / Q000502:physiology*; D008648:Mesoderm / Q000502:physiology*; D016296:Mutagenesis; D010641:Phenotype; D011956:Receptors, Cell Surface / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000235:genetics; D015398:Signal Transduction; D013329:Structure-Activity Relationship; D014982:Xenopus laevis / Q000196:embryology*
chemical_list: D006133:Growth Substances; D011956:Receptors, Cell Surface; D028341:Activins; D007265:Inhibins; D029404:Activin Receptors