Sonic hedgehog, a member of a family of putative signaling molecules, is implicated in the regulation of CNS polarity.
We have identified three members of a mouse gene family related to the Drosophila segment polarity gene, hedgehog (hh). Like hh, they encode putative secreted proteins and are thus implicated in cell-cell interactions. One of these, Sonic hh (Shh), is expressed in the notochord, the floor plate, and the zone of polarizing activity, signaling centers that are thought to mediate central nervous system (CNS) and limb polarity. Ectopic expression of Shh in the mouse CNS leads to the activation of floor plate-expressed genes. These results suggest that Shh may play a role in the normal inductive interactions that pattern the ventral CNS.
Echelard
Y
Y
Harvard University, Department of Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, and Cellular and Developmental Biology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138.
Epstein
D J
DJ
St-Jacques
B
B
Shen
L
L
Mohler
J
J
McMahon
J A
JA
McMahon
A P
AP
D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D002490:Central Nervous System / Q000196:embryology*; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D017931:DNA Primers / Q000737:chemistry; D029721:Drosophila Proteins; D005121:Extremities / Q000196:embryology; D005260:Female; D015870:Gene Expression; D053823:Hedgehog Proteins; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice / Q000196:embryology; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D008808:Mice, Inbred CBA; D008822:Mice, Transgenic; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009024:Morphogenesis; D011506:Proteins / Q000502:physiology*; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000235:genetics; D016415:Sequence Alignment; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; D015534:Trans-Activators
D017931:DNA Primers; D029721:Drosophila Proteins; D053823:Hedgehog Proteins; D011506:Proteins; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D015534:Trans-Activators; C077245:hh protein, Drosophila