XIPOU 2, a noggin-inducible gene, has direct neuralizing activity.
XIPOU 2, a member of the class III POU domain family, is expressed initially in Spemann's organizer, and later, in discrete regions of the developing nervous system in Xenopus laevis. XIPOU 2 may act downstream from initial neural induction events, since it is activated by the neural inducer, noggin. To determine if XIPOU 2 participates in the early events of neurogenesis, synthetic mRNA was microinjected into specific blastomeres of the 32-cell stage embryo. Misexpression of XIPOU 2 in the epidermis causes a direct switch in cell fate from an epidermal to a neuronal phenotype. In the absence of mesoderm induction, XIPOU 2 has the ability to induce a neuronal phenotype in uncommitted ectoderm. These data demonstrate the potential of XIPOU 2 to act as a master regulator of neurogenesis.
Witta
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SE
Genetics and Biochemistry Branch, NIDDK, NIH, Bethesda, MD 20892.
Agarwal
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VR
Sato
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SM
D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D030801:Animals, Genetically Modified; D001483:Base Sequence; D001755:Blastocyst / Q000502:physiology*; D002352:Carrier Proteins; D002454:Cell Differentiation / Q000235:genetics; D004627:Embryonic Induction; D004817:Epidermis / Q000196:embryology; D018507:Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D017403:In Situ Hybridization; D008845:Microinjections; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009420:Nervous System / Q000196:embryology*; D009424:Nervous System Physiological Phenomena; D050809:POU Domain Factors; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D011506:Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000235:genetics*; D014404:Tubulin / Q000235:genetics; D029867:Xenopus Proteins; D014982:Xenopus laevis / Q000196:embryology / Q000235:genetics*; D000099176:Noggin Protein
D002352:Carrier Proteins; D050809:POU Domain Factors; D011506:Proteins; D014157:Transcription Factors; D014404:Tubulin; D029867:Xenopus Proteins; D000099176:Noggin Protein; C490059:POU3F4 protein, Xenopus