title: The Chordin Morphogenetic Pathway.
abstract: The ancestral Chordin/bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) signaling pathway that establishes dorsal-ventral (D-V) patterning in animal development is one of the best understood morphogenetic gradients, and is established by multiple proteins that interact with each other in the extracellular space-including several BMPs, Chordin, Tolloid, Ont-1, Crossveinless-2, and Sizzled. The D-V gradient is adjusted redundantly by regulating the synthesis of its components, by direct protein-protein interactions between morphogens, and by long-range diffusion. The entire embryo participates in maintaining the D-V BMP gradient, so that for each action in the dorsal side there is a reaction in the ventral side. A gradient of Chordin is formed in the extracellular matrix that separates ectoderm from endomesoderm, called Brachet's cleft in Xenopus. The Chordin/BMP pathway is self-organizing and able to scale pattern in the dorsal half of bisected embryos or in Spemann dorsal lip transplantation experiments.
authors.affiliation: Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Department of Biological Chemistry, University of California, Los Angeles, California, USA. Electronic address: ederobertis@mednet.ucla.edu.
authors.forename: Edward M
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: De Robertis
authors.affiliation: Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Department of Biological Chemistry, University of California, Los Angeles, California, USA.
authors.forename: Yuki
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Moriyama
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D019485:Bone Morphogenetic Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D029721:Drosophila Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D004625:Embryo, Nonmammalian; D020690:GTPase-Activating Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D006023:Glycoproteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D036341:Intercellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D009024:Morphogenesis / Q000502:physiology*; D015398:Signal Transduction; D055394:Tolloid-Like Metalloproteinases / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D014981:Xenopus / Q000196:embryology / Q000378:metabolism; D029867:Xenopus Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D029961:Zebrafish Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D019485:Bone Morphogenetic Proteins; D029721:Drosophila Proteins; D020690:GTPase-Activating Proteins; D006023:Glycoproteins; D036341:Intercellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins; D055394:Tolloid-Like Metalloproteinases; D029867:Xenopus Proteins; D029961:Zebrafish Proteins; C509801:crossveinless 2 protein, zebrafish; C109976:szl protein, Xenopus; C054234:chordin; C071471:tld protein, Drosophila
keywords: BMP; Chordin; Gradient; Morphogen; Self-organization; Sizzled; Tolloid