Retinoic acid-dependent regulation of BMP4 and Tbx5 in the embryonic chick retina.
The transcriptional activator retinoic acid (RA) has been proposed to determine the dorsoventral polarity of the eye axis in vertebrates, thereby organizing the later developing retinotopic visual projection. We manipulated the RA distribution in the early chick eye anlage and subsequently measured gene expression with quantitative RT-PCR. Injections of all-trans RA suppressed the expression of dorsal signals Tbx5, BMP4 and to a lesser extent of ephrinB1, whereas the injection of citral, an inhibitor of RA synthesis, enhanced the expression of BMP4 and Tbx5. In contrast, the distribution of the transcription factor Pax2 in the ventral eye cup was not affected by changes in RA signaling.
Golz
Sarah
S
Institut für Biologie II, RWTH Aachen, Kopernikusstr. 16, 52074 Aachen, Germany.
Lantin
Corinna
C
Mey
Jörg
J
D000818:Animals; D019485:Bone Morphogenetic Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D002642:Chick Embryo; D036387:Ephrin-B1 / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D018507:Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental / Q000187:drug effects*; D007150:Immunohistochemistry / Q000379:methods; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000096:biosynthesis; D012160:Retina / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000196:embryology / Q000378:metabolism; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000379:methods; D020825:T-Box Domain Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D014212:Tretinoin / Q000494:pharmacology*
D019485:Bone Morphogenetic Proteins; D036387:Ephrin-B1; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D020825:T-Box Domain Proteins; C103172:T-box transcription factor 5; D014212:Tretinoin