First Author | Goulding M | Year | 1994 |
Journal | Development | Volume | 120 |
Issue | 4 | Pages | 957-71 |
PubMed ID | 7600971 | Mgi Jnum | J:18227 |
Mgi Id | MGI:66238 | Doi | 10.1242/dev.120.4.957 |
Citation | Goulding M, et al. (1994) Regulation of Pax-3 expression in the dermomyotome and its role in muscle development. Development 120(4):957-71 |
abstractText | The segmented mesoderm in vertebrates gives rise to a variety of cell types in the embryo including the axial skeleton and muscle. A number of transcription factors containing a paired domain (Pax proteins) are expressed in the segmented mesoderm during embryogenesis. These include Pax-3 and a closely related gene, Pax-7, both of which are expressed in the segmental plate and in the dermomyotome. In this paper, we show that signals from the notochord pattern the expression of Pax-3, Pax-7 and Pax-9 in somites and the subsequent differentiation of cell types that arise from the somitic mesoderm. We directly assess the role of the Pax-3 gene in the differentiation of cell types derived from the dermomyotome by analyzing the development of muscle in splotch mouse embryos which lack a functional Pax-3 gene. A population of Pax-3-expressing cells derived from the dermomyotome that normally migrate into the limb are absent in homozygous splotch embryos and, as a result, limb muscles are lost. No abnormalities were detected in the trunk musculature of splotch embryos indicating that Pax-3 is necessary for the development of the limb but not trunk muscle. |