title: Cloning and bioinformatical analysis of the N-terminus of the sonic hedgehog gene.
abstract: The sonic hedgehog protein not only plays a key role in early embryonic development, but also has essential effects on the adult nervous system, including neural stem cell proliferation, differentiation, migration and neuronal axon guidance. The N-terminal fragment of sonic hedgehog is the key functional element in this process. Therefore, this study aimed to clone and analyze the N-terminal fragment of the sonic hedgehog gene. Total RNA was extracted from the notochord of a Sprague-Dawley rat at embryonic day 9 and the N-terminal fragment of sonic hedgehog was amplified by nested reverse transcription-PCR. The N-terminal fragment of the sonic hedgehog gene was successfully cloned. The secondary and tertiary structures of the N-terminal fragment of the sonic hedgehog protein were predicted using Jpred and Phyre online.
authors.affiliation: School of Basic Medical Sciences, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510515, Guangdong Province, China ; Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, the Third Affiliated Hospital of Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510630, Guangdong Province, China.
authors.forename: Yi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: School of Basic Medical Sciences, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510515, Guangdong Province, China.
authors.forename: Shu
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.affiliation: School of Basic Medical Sciences, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510515, Guangdong Province, China.
authors.forename: Weiren
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Dong
authors.affiliation: Department of Laboratory, Shunde Guizhou Hospital, Foshan 528305, Guangdong Province, China.
authors.forename: Suifen
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: He
authors.affiliation: School of Basic Medical Sciences, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510515, Guangdong Province, China.
authors.forename: Haihong
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: School of Medical Sciences, Foshan University, Foshan 528000, Guangdong Province, China.
authors.forename: Lihua
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Department of Histology & Embryology, Xiangnan College, Chenzhou 418000, Hunan Province, China.
authors.forename: Yinjuan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Tang
authors.affiliation: Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, the Third Affiliated Hospital of Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510630, Guangdong Province, China.
authors.forename: Jiasong
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.affiliation: Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, the Third Affiliated Hospital of Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510630, Guangdong Province, China.
authors.forename: Suiqun
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Guo
keywords: basic research; central nervous system; cloning; developmental neurobiology; grants-supported paper; nested reverse transcription-PCR; neural regeneration; neuroregeneration; photographs-containing paper; rats; secondary structure; sonic hedgehog protein; tertiary structure