Rac1 is required for the formation of three germ layers during gastrulation.
The Rac1, a member of the Rho family proteins, regulates actin organization of cytoskeleton and cell adhesion. We used genetic analysis to elucidate the role of Rac1 in mouse embryonic development. The rac1 deficient embryos showed numerous cell deaths in the space between the embryonic ectoderm and endoderm at the primitive streak stage. Investigation of the primary epiblast culture isolated from rac1 deficient embryos indicated that Rac1 is involved in lamellipodia formation, cell adhesion and cell migration in vivo. These results suggest that Rac1-mediated cell adhesion is essential for the formation of three germ layers during gastrulation.
Division of DNA Biology and Embryo Engineering, Center for Experimental Medicine, The Institute of Medical Science, University of Tokyo, Japan.
K
K
Sugihara
N
N
Nakatsuji
K
K
Nakamura
K
K
Nakao
R
R
Hashimoto
H
H
Otani
H
H
Sakagami
H
H
Kondo
S
S
Nozawa
A
A
Aiba
M
M
Katsuki
D000818:Animals; D002448:Cell Adhesion / Q000235:genetics; D002465:Cell Movement / Q000235:genetics; D005313:Fetal Death / Q000235:genetics; D019204:GTP-Binding Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D005775:Gastrula / Q000166:cytology* / Q000502:physiology*; D018507:Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental; D005804:Genes, Lethal; D051379:Mice; D018345:Mice, Knockout; D020744:rac GTP-Binding Proteins
D019204:GTP-Binding Proteins; D020744:rac GTP-Binding Proteins