X-epilectin: a novel epidermal fucolectin regulated by BMP signalling.
Massé, Karine Baldwin, Rebecca J Barnett, Mark W Jones, Elizabeth A
Massé, Karine
Baldwin, Rebecca J
Barnett, Mark W
Jones, Elizabeth A
Citations
Altmetric:
Abstract
This paper reports the cloning and characterisation of a new posterior epidermal marker, X-epilectin, in Xenopus laevis. This gene encodes for a fucolectin, which belongs to the lectin superfamily of carbohydrate binding proteins and specifically binds fucose residues. RT-PCR and in situ hybridisation show that the expression of this gene is switched on during gastrulation and up-regulated during neurula stages and found expressed ubiquitously throughout the epidermis. From tailbud stages, the expression is limited to the dorsal posterior region of the embryo, suggesting that X-epilectin expression is regulated along anteroposterior and dorsoventral gradients during development. In the adult, X-epilectin is mainly expressed in intestinal components, kidney, spinal cord and skin. The effects of growth factors on the regulation of X-epilectin were studied. Change of the fate of animal caps into cement gland or dorsal mesoderm induces a down-regulation of X-epilectin expression in explants treated respectively with ammonium chloride and activin A. We also show that X-epilectin expression is down-regulated by Noggin and tBR and that this effect is inhibited by BMP4 over-expression, suggesting X-epilectin expression is mediated by the BMP signalling pathway.
Description
Date
2004-12
Publisher
Collections
Keywords
Type
Article
Citation
X-epilectin: a novel epidermal fucolectin regulated by BMP signalling. 2004, 48 (10):1119-29 Int. J. Dev. Biol.