title: Vertebrate homologues of Frodo are dynamically expressed during embryonic development in tissues undergoing extensive morphogenetic movements.
abstract: Frodo has been identified as a protein interacting with Dishevelled, an essential mediator of the Wnt signaling pathway, critical for the determination of cell fate and polarity in embryonic development. In this study, we use specific gene probes to characterize stage- and tissue-specific expression patterns of the mouse Frodo homologue and compare them with Frodo expression patterns in Xenopus embryos. In situ hybridization analysis of mouse Frodo transcripts demonstrates that, similar to Xenopus Frodo, mouse Frodo is expressed in primitive streak mesoderm, neuroectoderm, neural crest, presomitic mesoderm, and somites. In many cases, Frodo expression is confined to tissues undergoing extensive morphogenesis, suggesting that Frodo may be involved in the regulation of cell shape and motility. Highly conserved dynamic expression patterns of Frodo homologues indicate a similar function for these proteins in different vertebrates.
authors.affiliation: Department of Genetics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
authors.forename: Nina L
authors.initials: NL
authors.lastname: Hunter
authors.forename: Hiroki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Hikasa
authors.forename: Susan M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Dymecki
authors.forename: Sergei Y
authors.initials: SY
authors.lastname: Sokol
mesh_terms: D048868:Adaptor Proteins, Signal Transducing; D000818:Animals; D002352:Carrier Proteins / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000235:genetics*; D002465:Cell Movement / Q000502:physiology*; D048430:Cell Shape / Q000235:genetics; D004625:Embryo, Nonmammalian / Q000378:metabolism; D047108:Embryonic Development / Q000235:genetics*; D047908:Intracellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism*; D051379:Mice; D008813:Mice, Inbred ICR; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009024:Morphogenesis / Q000235:genetics*; D016601:RNA-Binding Proteins; D040681:Structural Homology, Protein; D029867:Xenopus Proteins / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D048868:Adaptor Proteins, Signal Transducing; D002352:Carrier Proteins; C454443:DACT1 protein, Xenopus; D047908:Intracellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins; D016601:RNA-Binding Proteins; D029867:Xenopus Proteins; C508545:frodo protein, mouse