scholarly journals Mesoderm induction by activin requires FGF-mediated intracellular signals

Development ◽  
1994 ◽  
Vol 120 (2) ◽  
pp. 463-472 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. LaBonne ◽  
M. Whitman

We have examined the role of FGF signaling during activin-mediated mesoderm induction in Xenopus. Using dominant inhibitory mutants of FGF signal transducers to disrupt the FGF-signaling pathway at the plasma membrane or in the cytosol prevents animal cap blastomeres from expressing several mesodermal markers in response to exogenous activin. Dominant inhibitory mutants of the FGF receptor, c-ras or c-raf inhibit the ability of activin to induce molecular markers of both dorsal and ventral mesoderm including Xbra, Mix1 and Xnot. Some transcriptional responses to activin such as goosecoid and Xwnt8 are inhibited less effectively than others, however, suggesting that there may differing requirements for an FGF signal in the responses of mesoderm-specific genes to activin induction. Despite the requirement for this signaling pathway during activin induction, downstream components of this pathway are not activated in response to activin, suggesting that activin does not signal directly through this pathway.

Development ◽  
2001 ◽  
Vol 128 (12) ◽  
pp. 2175-2186 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maximilian Fürthauer ◽  
Frank Reifers ◽  
Michael Brand ◽  
Bernard Thisse ◽  
Christine Thisse

In looking for novel factors involved in the regulation of the fibroblast growth factor (FGF) signaling pathway, we have isolated a zebrafish sprouty4 gene, based on its extensive similarities with the expression patterns of both fgf8 and fgf3. Through gain- and loss-of-function experiments, we demonstrate that Fgf8 and Fgf3 act in vivo to induce the expression of Spry4, which in turn can inhibit activity of these growth factors. When overexpressed at low doses, Spry4 induces loss of cerebellum and reduction in size of the otic vesicle, thereby mimicking the fgf8/acerebellar mutant phenotype. Injections of high doses of Spry4 cause ventralization of the embryo, an opposite phenotype to the dorsalisation induced by overexpression of Fgf8 or Fgf3. Conversely we have shown that inhibition of Spry4 function through injection of antisense morpholino oligonucleotide leads to a weak dorsalization of the embryo, the phenotype expected for an upregulation of Fgf8 or Fgf3 signaling pathway. Finally, we show that Spry4 interferes with FGF signaling downstream of the FGF receptor 1 (FGFR1). In addition, our analysis reveals that signaling through FGFR1/Ras/mitogen-activated protein kinase pathway is involved, not in mesoderm induction, but in the control of the dorsoventral patterning via the regulation of bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) expression.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sherwell Sanchez Carlos M. Abascal ◽  
Emily Lodge ◽  
Thea L. Willis ◽  
Mohammad K. Hajihosseini ◽  
Cynthia L. Andoniadou

Development ◽  
1993 ◽  
Vol 118 (2) ◽  
pp. 477-487 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. Amaya ◽  
P.A. Stein ◽  
T.J. Musci ◽  
M.W. Kirschner

We have examined the role of FGF signalling in the development of muscle and notochord and in the expression of early mesodermal markers in Xenopus embryos. Disruption of the FGF signalling pathway by expression of a dominant negative construct of the FGF receptor (XFD) generally results in gastrulation defects that are later evident in the formation of the trunk and tail, though head structures are formed nearly normally. These defects are reflected in the loss of notochord and muscle. Even in embryos that show mild defects and gastrulate properly, muscle formation is impaired, suggesting that morphogenesis and tissue differentiation each depend on FGF. The XFD protein inhibits the expression of the immediate early gene brachyury throughout the marginal zone, including the dorsal side; it does not, however, inhibit the dorsal lip marker goosecoid, which is expressed in the first involuting mesoderm at the dorsal side that will underlie the head. The XFD protein also inhibits Xpo expression, an immediate early marker of ventral and lateral mesoderm. These results suggest that FGF is involved in the earliest events of most mesoderm induction that occur before gastrulation and that the early dorsal mesoderm is already composed of two cell populations that differ in their requirements for FGF.


Development ◽  
1996 ◽  
Vol 122 (10) ◽  
pp. 3173-3183 ◽  
Author(s):  
K.L. Kroll ◽  
E. Amaya

We have developed a simple approach for large-scale transgenesis in Xenopus laevis embryos and have used this method to identify in vivo requirements for FGF signaling during gastrulation. Plasmids are introduced into decondensed sperm nuclei in vitro using restriction enzyme-mediated integration (REMI). Transplantation of these nuclei into unfertilized eggs yields hundreds of normal, diploid embryos per day which develop to advanced stages and express integrated plasmids nonmosaically. Transgenic expression of a dominant negative mutant of the FGF receptor (XFD) after the mid-blastula stage uncouples mesoderm induction, which is normal, from maintenance of mesodermal markers, which is lost during gastrulation. By contrast, embryos expressing XFD contain well-patterned nervous systems despite a putative role for FGF in neural induction.


2009 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 233
Author(s):  
T. A. L. Brevini ◽  
G. Pennarossa ◽  
S. Antonini ◽  
F. Gandolfi

Leukemia inhibitory factor (LIF), its receptor heterodimer (LRβ-gp130), and the related signal transducer and activator of transcription-3 (STAT3) constitute a system controlling self-renewal and pluripotency of embryonic stem cells (ESC) in the mouse, where LIF withdrawal or direct inhibition of STAT3 causes ESC differentiation. By contrast, several studies have demonstrated that LIF is not required to maintain human ESC pluripotency. Scattered information is available in other species, and data on the role of LIF in pig ESC are scanty. The aims of the present study were (a) to characterize the expression profile of gp130, LRβ, and STAT3 in pig parthenogenetic cell lines (ppC), previously derived in our laboratory and shown to be positive for the main pluripotency related markers; (b) to evaluate the role of LIF pathway in maintaining the pluripotency of these cells. To this purpose, ppC were cultured as previously described (Brevini et al. 2007 Theriogenology 68, 206–214) and screened by RT-PCR for the two LIF receptor subunits (LRβ and gp130) and STAT3. Pig granulosa cells were used as positive controls. To better investigate the possible role of LIF in maintenance of pluripotency in ppC, the formation of embryoid bodies (EB) was induced in the presence or in the absence of the cytokine. Undifferentiated cells were cultured in hanging drops either with or without LIF for 12 days. The EB formation and the expression of molecular markers specific for the three germ layers was evaluated at the end of the differentiation period. Molecular analysis allowed us to detect transcription of STAT3, whereas no signal for LRβ and gp130 was detected in ppC. These results seem to indicate that LIF does not play a role in the maintenance of pluripotency in the pig. However, after removal of LIF, ppC routinely formed EB that expressed molecular markers specific for the three germ layers. On the other hand, when LIF was added to the differentiation medium, pig cells were unable to form EB. They kept proliferating in an undifferentiated state, and no expression of molecular markers specific for the three germ layers was detected. Moreover, when re-plated on inactivated feeder-layers, they formed distinct colonies that maintained expression of pluripotency markers. Our results show that a role of LIF in pluripotency maintenance through a classical LRβ-gp130 and STAT3 activation pathway is unlikely. However, interaction with an alternative nonclassical activation signaling pathway cannot be ruled out. Indeed, the presence of the cytokine in the medium used for differentiation experiments actively inhibited EB formation, indicating a possible role in preventing differentiation in the porcine species. Further studies are needed to elucidate these aspects. Supported by: PRIN2005; PRIN2006; First 2006; First2007.


2001 ◽  
Vol 155 (5) ◽  
pp. 845-858 ◽  
Author(s):  
Benjamin L. Allen ◽  
Mark S. Filla ◽  
Alan C. Rapraeger

FGF signaling uses receptor tyrosine kinases that form high-affinity complexes with FGFs and heparan sulfate (HS) proteoglycans at the cell surface. It is hypothesized that assembly of these complexes requires simultaneous recognition of distinct sulfation patterns within the HS chain by FGF and the FGF receptor (FR), suggesting that tissue-specific HS synthesis may regulate FGF signaling. To address this, FGF-2 and FGF-4, and extracellular domain constructs of FR1-IIIc (FR1c) and FR2-IIIc (FR2c), were used to probe for tissue-specific HS in embryonic day 18 mouse embryos. Whereas FGF-2 binds HS ubiquitously, FGF-4 exhibits a restricted pattern, failing to bind HS in the heart and blood vessels and failing to activate signaling in mouse aortic endothelial cells. This suggests that FGF-4 seeks a specific HS sulfation pattern, distinct from that of FGF-2, which is not expressed in most vascular tissues. Additionally, whereas FR2c binds all FGF-4–HS complexes, FR1c fails to bind FGF-4–HS in most tissues, as well as in Raji-S1 cells expressing syndecan-1. Proliferation assays using BaF3 cells expressing either FR1c or FR2c support these results. This suggests that FGF and FR recognition of specific HS sulfation patterns is critical for the activation of FGF signaling, and that synthesis of these patterns is regulated during embryonic development.


Development ◽  
1994 ◽  
Vol 120 (2) ◽  
pp. 453-462 ◽  
Author(s):  
R.A. Cornell ◽  
D. Kimelman

The early patterning of mesoderm in the Xenopus embryo requires signals from several intercellular factors, including mesoderm-inducing agents that belong to the fibroblast growth factor (FGF) and TGF-beta families. In animal hemisphere explants (animal caps), basic FGF and the TGF-beta family member activin are capable of converting pre-ectodermal cells to a mesodermal fate, although activin is much more effective at inducing dorsal and anterior mesoderm than is basic FGF. Using a dominant-negative form of the Xenopus type 1 FGF receptor, we show that an FGF signal is required for the full induction of mesoderm by activin. Animal caps isolated from embryos that have been injected with the truncated FGF receptor and cultured with activin do not extend and the induction of some genes, including cardiac actin and Xbra, is greatly diminished, while the induction of other genes, including the head organizer-specific genes gsc and Xlim-1, is less sensitive. These results are consistent with the phenotype of the truncated FGF receptor-injected embryo and imply that the activin induction of mesoderm depends on FGF, with some genes requiring a higher level of FGF signaling than others.


2013 ◽  
Vol 305 (1) ◽  
pp. E41-E49 ◽  
Author(s):  
Liliana del V. Sosa ◽  
Silvina Gutiérrez ◽  
Juan P. Petiti ◽  
Alicia M. Vaca ◽  
Ana L. De Paul ◽  
...  

In the present work, we investigated the effect of 17β-estradiol (E2) and basic fibroblast growth factor 2 (FGF2) on the lactotroph cell-proliferative response and the related membrane-initiated signaling pathway. Anterior pituitary mixed-cell cultures of random, cycling 3-mo-old female rats were treated with 10 nM E2, E2 membrane-impermeable conjugated BSA (E2-BSA), PPT (ERα agonist), and DPN (ERβ agonist) alone or combined with FGF2 (10 ng/ml) for 30 min or 4 h. Although our results showed that the uptake of BrdU into the nucleus of lactotrophs was not modified by E2 or FGF2 alone, a significant increase in the lactotroph uptake of BrdU was observed after E2/FGF2 coincubation, with this effect being mimicked by PPT/FGF2. These proliferative effects were blocked by ICI 182,780 or PD-98059. The involvement of membrane ER in the proliferative response of prolactin cells induced by the steroid and FGF2 coincubation was confirmed using E2-BSA, and the association between ERα and FGF receptor was observed after E2/FGF2 treatment by immunoprecipitation. A significant increase in the ERK1/2 expression was noted after E2, E2-BSA, PPT, and FGF2 alone, which was more noticeable after E2-BSA/FGF2, E2/FGF2, or PPT/FGF2 treatments. This study provides evidence that E2 and FGF2 exert a cooperative effect on the lactotroph proliferation principally by signaling initiated at the plasma membrane triggering a genomic effect mediated by MEK/ERK1/2, a common signaling pathway, that finally regulates the lactotroph population, thus contributing to pituitary plasticity.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carmen Andrikou ◽  
Andreas Hejnol

AbstractFGF signaling is involved in mesoderm induction in deuterostomes, but not in flies and nematodes, where it has a role in mesoderm patterning and migration. However, comparable studies in other protostomic taxa are missing in order to decipher whether this mesoderm-inducing function of FGF extends beyond the lineage of deuterostomes. Here, we investigated the role of FGF signaling during mesoderm development in three species of lophophorates, a clade within the protostome group Spiralia. Our gene expression analyses show that the molecular patterning of mesoderm development is overall conserved between brachiopods and phoronids, but the spatial and temporal recruitment of transcription factors differs significantly. Moreover, inhibitor experiments demonstrate that FGF signaling is involved in mesoderm formation, morphogenetic movements of gastrulation and posterior axial elongation. Our findings suggest that the inductive role of FGF in mesoderm possibly predates the origin of deuterostomes.


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