Mouse Crossveinless-2 is the vertebrate homolog of a Drosophila extracellular regulator of BMP signaling.
The Dpp/BMP signaling pathway is highly conserved between vertebrates and invertebrates. The recent molecular characterization of the Drosophila crossveinless-2 (cv-2) mutation by Conley and colleagues introduced a novel regulatory step in the Dpp/BMP pathway (Development 127 (2000) 3945). The CV-2 protein is secreted and contains five cysteine-rich (CR) domains similar to those observed in the BMP antagonist Short gastrulation (Sog) of Drosophila and Chordin (Chd) of vertebrates. The mutant phenotype in Drosophila suggests that CV-2 is required for the differentiation of crossvein structures in the wing which require high Dpp levels. Here we present the mouse and human homologs of the Drosophila cv-2 protein. The mouse gene is located on chromosome 9A3 while the human locus maps on chromosome 7p14. CV-2 is expressed dynamically during mouse development, in particular in regions of high BMP signaling such as the posterior primitive streak, ventral tail bud and prevertebral cartilages. We conclude that CV-2 is an evolutionarily conserved extracellular regulator of the Dpp/BMP signaling pathway.
Coffinier
Catherine
C
Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1662, USA.
Ketpura
Nan
N
Tran
Uyen
U
Geissert
Douglas
D
De Robertis
E M
EM
D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D004330:Drosophila / Q000235:genetics*; D029721:Drosophila Proteins; D006023:Glycoproteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D019476:Insect Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D036341:Intercellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins; D051379:Mice / Q000196:embryology / Q000235:genetics; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009928:Organ Specificity; D016415:Sequence Alignment
D029721:Drosophila Proteins; D006023:Glycoproteins; D019476:Insect Proteins; D036341:Intercellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins; C415644:cv-2 protein, Drosophila; C054234:chordin