Sumario:
The International Journal of Developmental Biology
Linking Development, Stem Cells and Cancer Research
Euskal Herriko Unibertsitateko Argitalpen Zerbitzua / Servicio Editorial de la Universidad del País Vasco / University of the Basque Country Press
Volume 58 - Number 9 (2014) pp. 643-718 Editor-in-Chief: Juan Aréchaga
MORE INFORMATION [Abstract - FullText / FullText Open Access]
ISSN: 0214-6282 / ISSN-e: 1696-3547 www.intjdevbiol.com
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C O N T E N T S
Institutional Report ----------------------------------
EHU/UPV/UBC - The International Journal of Developmental Biology, Vol 58-9: 643-647 (2014)
doi: 10.1387/ijdb.140245sr / © UBC Press (www.a360grados.net)
Two decades of reproductive biomedicine and stem cell biology in Iran: the Royan Institute
Sophie Rousseaux
INSERM, U823, Université Grenoble Alpes, Institut Albert Bonniot, Faculté de Médecine, La Tronche Cedex, France
Abstract: The Royan Institute in Tehran, Iran, has developed over the last 23 years and is today a leading institute in the Middle East dedicated to research and technological development programs coupled with clinical activities in the area of reproductive and stem cell biology. Here an insight into its history and future plans is given through a dialogue with one of its pioneer members and current Director, Prof. Hamid Gourabi. The Royan Institute is a remarkable example of a successful achievement in organizing basic and translational research under challenging environmental conditions.
Keywords: reproductive biomedicine, stem cell biology, regenerative medicine, assisted reproductive technologies
Review -----------------------------------------------
EHU/UPV/UBC - The International Journal of Developmental Biology, Vol 58-9: 649-662 (2014)
doi: 10.1387/ijdb.140188dp / © UBC Press (www.a360grados.net)
Structure and function of gap junction proteins: role of gap junction proteins in embryonic heart development
Bhavesh K. Ahir 1 and Margaret K. Pratten 2
1. National Center for Computational Toxicology (B205-01), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, USA
2. School of Life Sciences, Queen’s Medical Centre, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK
Abstract: Intercellular (cell-to-cell) communication is a crucial and complex mechanism during embryonic heart development. In the cardiovascular system, the beating of the heart is a dynamic and key regulatory process, which is functionally regulated by the coordinated spread of electrical activity through heart muscle cells. Heart tissues are composed of individual cells, each bearing specialized cell surface membrane structures called gap junctions that permit the intercellular exchange of ions and low molecular weight molecules. Gap junction channels are essential in normal heart function and they assist in the mediated spread of electrical impulses that stimulate synchronized contraction (via an electrical syncytium) of cardiac tissues. This present review describes the current knowledge of gap junction biology. In the first part, we summarise some relevant biochemical and physiological properties of gap junction proteins, including their structure and function. In the second part, we review the current evidence demonstrating the role of gap junction proteins in embryonic development with particular reference to those involved in embryonic heart development. Genetics and transgenic animal studies of gap junction protein function in embryonic heart development are considered and the alteration/disruption of gap junction intercellular communication which may lead to abnormal heart development is also discussed.
Keywords: intercellular communication, heart development, embryogenesis, teratogenicity, embryotoxicity
Short Communication ----------------------------------------
EHU/UPV/UBC - The International Journal of Developmental Biology, Vol 58-9: 663-668 (2014)
doi: 10.1387/ijdb.140261rn / © UBC Press (www.a360grados.net)
Preformed Wolffian duct regulates Müllerian duct elongation independently of canonical Wnt signaling or Lhx1 expression
Masahiko Chiga 1,2, Tomoko Ohmori 1, Takashi Ohba 2, Hidetaka Katabuchi 2 and Ryuichi Nishinakamura 1
1. Department of Kidney Development, Institute of Molecular Embryology and Genetics, Kumamoto University
2. Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Faculty of Life Sciences, Kumamoto University, Kumamoto, Japan
Abstract: The Müllerian duct gives rise to female reproductive organs, such as the oviduct and uterus. During gestation, the Wolffian duct, which generates male reproductive organs and the kidney, is formed, and the Müllerian duct then elongates caudally along the preformed Wolffian duct. Anatomical separation of these two ducts in chick embryos demonstrated that the Wolffian duct is required for Müllerian duct formation. Likewise, a few reports supported this notion in mice, including studies on Wnt9b mutant mice and Wolffian duct-specific Lhx1 deletion. However, anatomical ablation of the Wolffian duct has not been established in mice. In this study, we addressed the importance of the interaction between these two reproductive ducts, by generating mice that specifically expressed a diphtheria toxin subunit in the Wolffian duct. While this genetic ablation of the Wolffian duct resulted in kidney hypoplasia/agenesis in both male and female mutant mice, the female mutant mice lacked the uterus, which is derived from the Müllerian duct. At mid-gestation, the Müllerian duct was truncated at the level where the mutant Wolffian duct was prematurely terminated, meaning that Müllerian duct elongation was dependent on the preformed Wolffian duct. However, Wnt9b expression in the Wolffian duct and the resultant canonical Wnt activity, as well as Lhx1 expression, were not affected in the mutant mice. These results suggest that the Wolffian duct regulates Müllerian duct elongation by currently unidentified mechanisms that are independent of canonical Wnt signaling or Lhx1 expression.
Keywords: Wolffian duct, Müllerian duct, Wnt9b, Lhx1
Developmental Expression Patterns ---------------------------------
EHU/UPV/UBC - The International Journal of Developmental Biology, Vol 58-9: 669-676 (2014)
doi: 10.1387/ijdb.140174ss / © UBC Press (www.a360grados.net)
Cloning, expression and characterization of the ornithine decarboxylase gene from Dictyostelium discoideum
Rishikesh Kumar, Sheikh Rafia and Shweta Saran
School of Life Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India.
Abstract: Ornithine decarboxylase (ODC) is a rate limiting enzyme in polyamine synthesis that decarboxylates ornithine to form the diamine putrescine. We report here the isolation, expression and characterization of a homolog of ODC from Dictyostelium discoideum. DdODC is conserved and shows sequence and structural homology with that from human. Both ODC transcript and protein are expressed at all stages of development and show high expression in prestalk/stalk cells. It is cytosolic and predominantly perinuclear in localization. Both overexpression of DdODC and putrescine treatment resulted in inhibition of cell proliferation.
Keywords: D. discoideum, ODC expression, putrescine
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EHU/UPV/UBC - The International Journal of Developmental Biology, Vol 58-9: 677-692 (2014)
doi: 10.1387/ijdb.140114ar / © UBC Press (www.a360grados.net)
The involvement of three signal transduction pathways in botryllid ascidian astogeny, as revealed by expression patterns of representative genes
Amalia Rosner 1, Gilad Alfassi 1,2, Elizabeth Moiseeva 1, Guy Paz 1, Claudette Rabinowitz 1, Ziva Lapidot 1, Jacob Douek 1, Abraham Haim 2 and Baruch Rinkevich 1
1. Israel Oceanographic and Limnological Research, National Institute of Oceanography, Haifa, Israel
2. Department of Evolutionary & Environmental Biology, Faculty of Natural Sciences, University of Haifa, Mount Carmel, Haifa, Israel
Abstract: The patterning of the modular body plan in colonial organisms is termed astogeny, as distinct from ontogeny, the development of an individual organism from embryo to adult. Evolutionarily conserved signaling pathways suggest shared roots and common uses for both ontogeny and astogeny. Botryllid ascidians, a widely dispersed group of colonial tunicates, exhibit an intricate modular life form, in which astogeny develops as weekly, highly synchronized growth/death cycles termed blastogenesis, abiding by a strictly regulated plan. In these organisms both astogeny and ontogeny form similar body structures. Working on Botryllus schlosseri, and choosing a representative gene from each of three key Signal Transduction Pathways (STPs: Wnt/β-catenin; TGF-β, MAPK/ERK), we explored and compared gene expression at different stages of ontogeny and blastogenesis. Protein expression was studied via immunohistochemistry, ELISA and Western blotting. Five specific inhibitors and an activator for the selected pathways were used and followed to assess their impact during the blastogenic cycle and the development of distinctive phenotypes. Outcomes show that STPs are activated and function (while not necessarily co-localized) during both ontogeny and astogeny. Cellular patterns in blastogenesis, such as colony architecture, are shaped by these STPs. These results are further supported by administering Wnt agonist and anatagonist, TGF-β receptor antagonists and inhibitors of Mek1/Mek2. Independent of their expression during ontogeny, some of the spatiotemporal patterns of STPs developed within short blastogenic windows. The results support the notion that while the same molecular machinery is functioning in Botryllus schlosseri astogeny and ontogeny, astogenic development is not an ontogenic replicate.
Keywords: Botryllus schlosseri, blastogenesis, MAPK/ERK, TGF-β, Wnt/β-catenin
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EHU/UPV/UBC - The International Journal of Developmental Biology, Vol 58-9: 693-699 (2014)
doi: 10.1387/ijdb.140288jp / © UBC Press (www.a360grados.net)
Construction and characterization of a sox9b transgenic reporter line
Jessica S. Plavicki 1,3, Tracie R. Baker 1,3, Felipe R. Burns 1,3, Kong M. Xiong 2, Alex J. Gooding 1, Peter Hofsteen 1, Richard E. Peterson 1,3 and Warren Heideman 1,3
1. School of Pharmacy
2. Department of Biomolecular Chemistry
3. Molecular and Environmental Toxicology Center, School of Pharmacy, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA
Abstract: The transcription factor SOX9 is a member of the SRY-related high-mobility-group box (SOX) superfamily of genes. In mammals, Sox9 plays important roles in many developmental processes including craniofacial, skeletal and heart morphogenesis, retinal and brain development, and gonad differentiation. Human mutations in SOX9 or the SOX9 promoter result in campomelic dysplasia, a severe genetic disorder, which disrupts skeletal, craniofacial, cardiac, neural and reproductive development. Due to the duplication of the teleost fish genome, zebrafish (Danio rerio) have two Sox9 genes: sox9a and sox9b. Loss of sox9b in zebrafish results in loss of function phenotypes that are similar to those observed in humans and mice. In order to generate a transgenic sox9b:EGFP reporter line, we cloned a 2450 bp fragment of the sox9b promoter and fused it to an EGFP reporter. Consistent with reported sox9b expression and function, we observed sox9b:EGFP in the developing heart, skeletal and craniofacial structures, brain, retina, and ovaries. Our resulting transgenic line is a useful tool for identifying and studying sox9b function in development and visualizing a number of zebrafish organs and tissues in which sox9b is normally expressed.
Keywords: sox9b, Sox9, SOX9, zebrafish, heart, craniofacial, skeletal, ovary, brain, campomelic dysplasia
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EHU/UPV/UBC - The International Journal of Developmental Biology, Vol 58-9: 701-704 (2014)
doi: 10.1387/ijdb.140254js / © UBC Press (www.a360grados.net)
Developmental expression of Pitx2c in Xenopus trigeminal and profundal placodes
Yeon-Ho Jeong 1, Byung-Keon Park 1, Jean-Pierre Saint-Jeannet 2 and Young-Hoon Lee 1
1. Department of Oral Anatomy, School of Dentistry, and Institute of Oral Biosciences, Chonbuk National University, Jeonju, Republic of Korea
2. Department of Basic Science and Craniofacial Biology, College of Dentistry, New York University, New York, USA
Abstract: Cranial placodes are thickenings of the embryonic head ectoderm that contribute to the paired sense organs and to the cephalic peripheral nervous system. Here we report the spatiotemporal expression pattern of transcription factor Pitx2c during Xenopus laevis cranial placode formation, focusing more specifically on key stages of trigeminal and profundal placode development. We also compare its expression to five genes that have been associated with development of these sensory placodes, namely Foxi1c, Islet1, NeuroD, Pax3, and Six1. We show that while initially expressed in both the trigeminal and profundal placodes, Pitx2c is later restricted to the prospective profundal ganglion, where it is co-expressed with Islet1, NeuroD and Pax3. This combination of factors defines a molecular signature for the characterization of the profundal versus trigeminal ganglia in Xenopus.
Keywords: cranial placode, trigeminal, profundal, Pitx2c, Xenopus
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EHU/UPV/UBC - The International Journal of Developmental Biology, Vol 58-9: 705-711 (2014)
doi: 10.1387/ijdb.150032yi / © UBC Press (www.a360grados.net)
Characterization of the insulin-like growth factor binding protein family in Xenopus tropicalis
Yoshikazu Haramoto 1, Tomomi Oshima 1, Shuji Takahashi 2 and Yuzuru Ito 1
1. Research Center for Stem Cell Engineering, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan
2. Institute for Amphibian Biology, Graduate School of Science, Hiroshima University, Higashi-Hiroshima, Hiroshima, Japan
Abstract: The insulin-like growth factor binding protein (Igfbp) family consists of six members designated Igfbp1–6. Igfbps are involved in many vital biological functions. They physically interact with IGFs (IGF1 and IGF2) and act as carriers, thereby protecting IGFs from proteolytic degradation. Thus, they function as modulators of IGF activity. Furthermore, Igfbps have been reported to have IGF-independent activities. They interact with other proteins, including cell surface proteins, extra-cellular matrix proteins, and potentially intracellular molecules. In Xenopus tropicalis (X. tropicalis), only four igfbp genes (igfbp1, igfbp2, igfbp4, and igfbp5) have been identified, and their expression is not well characterized. We report that X. tropicalis genome lacks the igfbp3 and igfbp6 genes based on synteny analyses. We also examined the spatio-temporal expression patterns of igfbp genes in early X. tropicalis development. Expression analyses indicated that they are differentially expressed during early development. Each igfbp gene showed a characteristic spatial expression pattern. Except for igfbp5, they demonstrated overlapping expression in the pronephros. The Xenopus pronephros is composed of four domains (i.e., the proximal tubule, intermediate tubule, distal tubule, and connecting tubule). Our results showed that at least two igfbp genes are co-expressed in all pronephric domains, suggesting that redundant functions of igfbp genes are required in early pronephric kidney development.
Keywords: insulin-like growth factor (IGF), insulin-like growth factor binding protein (IGFBP), Xenopus tropicalis
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EHU/UPV/UBC - The International Journal of Developmental Biology, Vol 58-9: 713-717 (2014)
doi: 10.1387/ijdb.140094jd / © UBC Press (www.a360grados.net)
Regional divergence of palate medial edge epithelium along the anterior to posterior axis
Jiu-Zhen Jin, Dennis R. Warner and Jixiang Ding
Department of Molecular, Cellular & Craniofacial Biology, School of Dentistry and Birth Defects Center, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY, USA
Abstract: Recent studies have shown that mouse palatal mesenchymal cells undergo regional specification along the anterior-posterior (A-P) axis defined by anterior Shox2 and Msx1 expression and posterior Meox2 expression. A-P regional specification of the medial edge epithelium, which is directly responsible for palate fusion, has long been proposed, but it has not yet been demonstrated due to the lack of regional specific markers. In this study, we have demonstrated that the palate medial edge epithelium is regionalized along the A-P axis, similar to that for the underlying mesenchyme. Mmp13, a medial edge epithelium specific marker, was uniformly expressed from anterior to posterior in wild-type mouse palatal shelves. Previous studies demonstrated that medial edge epithelium expression of Mmp13 was regulated by TGF-beta3. We have found that the changes in Mmp13 expression in TGF-beta3 knockouts varied along the A-P axis, and can be broken down into three distinct regions. These regions correlated with regional specification of the underlying medial edge mesenchymal cells and timing of palate fusion. Mouse palate medial edge epithelium along the A-P axis can be divided into different regions according to the differential response to the loss of TGF-beta3.
Keywords: Mmp13, TGF-beta3, mouse secondary palate, regional specification
The International Journal of Developmental Biology
ISSN 1696-3547 (online) and 0214-6282 (print)
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