| First Author | Loomis CA | Year | 1996 |
| Journal | Nature | Volume | 382 |
| Issue | 6589 | Pages | 360-3 |
| PubMed ID | 8684466 | Mgi Jnum | J:34307 |
| Mgi Id | MGI:81767 | Doi | 10.1038/382360a0 |
| Citation | Loomis CA, et al. (1996) The mouse Engrailed-1 gene and ventral limb patterning. Nature 382(6589):360-3 |
| abstractText | DURING vertebrate limb development, positional information must be specified along three distinct axes. Although much progress has been made in our understanding of the molecular interactions involved in anterior-posterior and proximal-distal limb patterning, less is known about dorsal-ventral patterning(1-3). The genes Wnt-7a and Lmx- 1,which are expressed in dorsal limb ectoderm and mesoderm, respectively, are thought to be important regulators of dorsal limb differentiation(4-6). Whether a complementary set of molecules controls ventral limb development has not been clear. Here we report that Engrailed-1, a homeodamain-containing transcription factor expressed in embryonic central limb ectoderm(7,8), is essential for ventral limb patterning. Loss of Engrailed-1 function in mice results in dorsal transformations of ventral paw structures, and in subtle alterations along the proximal-distal limb ads. Engrailed-1 seems to act in part by repressing dorsal differentiation induced by Wnt- 7a, and is essential for proper formation of the apical ectodermal ridge. |
