The Mohawk homeobox gene is a critical regulator of tendon differentiation.
Mohawk (Mkx) is a member of the Three Amino acid Loop Extension superclass of atypical homeobox genes that is expressed in developing tendons. To investigate the in vivo functions of Mkx, we generated Mkx(-/-) mice. These mice had hypoplastic tendons throughout the body. Despite the reduction in tendon mass, the cell number in tail tendon fiber bundles was similar between wild-type and Mkx(-/-) mice. We also observed small collagen fibril diameters and a down-regulation of type I collagen in Mkx(-/-) tendons. These data indicate that Mkx plays a critical role in tendon differentiation by regulating type I collagen production in tendon cells.
Ito
Yoshiaki
Y
Department of Systems BioMedicine, National Research Institute for Child Health and Development, Tokyo 157-8535, Japan.
Toriuchi
Naoya
N
Yoshitaka
Teruhito
T
Ueno-Kudoh
Hiroe
H
Sato
Tempei
T
Yokoyama
Shigetoshi
S
Nishida
Keiichiro
K
Akimoto
Takayuki
T
Takahashi
Michiko
M
Miyaki
Shigeru
S
Asahara
Hiroshi
H
D000818:Animals; D002454:Cell Differentiation; D024042:Collagen Type I / Q000096:biosynthesis; D018507:Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental; D018398:Homeodomain Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D018345:Mice, Knockout; D046529:Microscopy, Electron, Transmission; D013710:Tendons / Q000166:cytology / Q000196:embryology / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000378:metabolism*; D013718:Tensile Strength
D024042:Collagen Type I; D018398:Homeodomain Proteins; C510657:mohawk protein, mouse