title: Maintenance of the specification of the anterior definitive endoderm and forebrain depends on the axial mesendoderm: a study using HNF3beta/Foxa2 conditional mutants.
abstract: In mouse embryo, the early induction of the head region depends on signals from the anterior visceral endoderm (AVE) and the anterior primitive streak. Subsequently, node derivatives, including anterior definitive endoderm and axial mesendoderm, are thought to play a role in the maintenance and elaboration of anterior neural character. Foxa2 encodes a winged-helix transcription factor expressed in signaling centers required for head development, including the AVE, anterior primitive streak, anterior definitive endoderm, and axial mesendoderm. To address Foxa2 function during formation of the head, we used conditional mutants in which Foxa2 function is preserved in extraembryonic tissues during early embryonic stages and inactivated in embryonic tissues after the onset of gastrulation. In Foxa2 conditional mutants, the anterior neural plate and anterior definitive endoderm were initially specified. In contrast, the axial mesendoderm failed to differentiate. At later stages, specification of the anterior neural plate and anterior definitive endoderm was shown to be labile. As a result, head truncations were observed in Foxa2 conditional mutants. Our results therefore indicate that anterior definitive endoderm alone is not sufficient to maintain anterior head specification and that an interaction between the axial mesendoderm and the anterior definitive endoderm is required for proper specification of the endoderm. Foxa2 therefore plays an integral role in the formation of axial mesendoderm, which is required to maintain the specification of the forebrain and the anterior definitive endoderm.
authors.affiliation: Institut de Génétique et de Biologie Moléculaire et Cellulaire, CNRS/INSERM/Université Louis Pasteur, C.U. de Strasbourg, Illkirch, France.
authors.forename: Marc
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hallonet
authors.forename: Klaus H
authors.initials: KH
authors.lastname: Kaestner
authors.forename: Luis
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Martin-Parras
authors.forename: Hiroshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Sasaki
authors.forename: Ulrich A K
authors.initials: UA
authors.lastname: Betz
authors.forename: Siew-Lan
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Ang
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D019521:Body Patterning / Q000502:physiology; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D005314:Embryonic and Fetal Development / Q000235:genetics*; D004707:Endoderm / Q000502:physiology; D018507:Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental; D051542:Hepatocyte Nuclear Factor 3-beta; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D017403:In Situ Hybridization; D008648:Mesoderm / Q000502:physiology; D051379:Mice; D009154:Mutation; D009687:Nuclear Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D016548:Prosencephalon / Q000196:embryology* / Q000502:physiology; D014157:Transcription Factors
chemical_list: D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; C496503:Foxa2 protein, mouse; D009687:Nuclear Proteins; D014157:Transcription Factors; D051542:Hepatocyte Nuclear Factor 3-beta