Conserved requirement of Lim1 function for cell movements during gastrulation.
Hukriede NA, Tsang TE, Habas R, Khoo PL, Steiner K, Weeks DL, Tam PP, Dawid IB.
Laboratory of Molecular Genetics, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA.
To investigate Lim1 function during gastrulation, we used transcript depletion through DEED antisense oligonucleotides in Xenopus and cell transplantation in mice. Xenopus embryos depleted of Lim1 lack anterior head structures and fail to form a proper axis as a result of a failure of gastrulation movements, even though mesodermal cell identities are specified. Similar disruption of cell movements in the mesoderm is also observed in Lim1(-/-) mice. Paraxial protocadherin (PAPC) expression is lost in the nascent mesoderm of Lim1(-/-) mouse embryos and in the organizer of Lim1-depleted Xenopus embryos; the latter can be rescued to a considerable extent by supplying PAPC exogenously. We conclude that a primary function of Lim1 in the early embryo is to enable proper cell movements during gastrulation.
Publication Types:
PMID: 12530965 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]