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C Thaller

Publications and source records attributed to C Thaller.

31 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1990

Isolation of 3,4-didehydroretinoic acid, a novel morphogenetic signal in the chick wing bud.

There is increasing evidence that retinoic acid is a morphogen involved in vertebrate development. This evidence comes in part from studies of the chick wing bud, in which local application of all-trans-retinoic acid results in a duplication of the digit pattern along the anteroposterior axis. Retinoic acid may be only one of several morphogenetic signalling compounds required for limb pattern formation. To identify novel morphogenetically active compounds, fractionated extracts of whole chick embryos were tested for their ability to induce digit pattern duplications. We describe here the isolation of a new activity present in the limb bud, which we have identified as all-trans-3,4-didehydroretinoic acid. The 3,4-didehydroretinoic acid is generated in situ from retinol through a 3,4-didehydroretinol intermediate. We show that 3,4-didehydroretinoic acid and retinoic acid are equipotent in evoking digit duplications. These findings suggest that there are at least two endogenous retinoids with morphogenetic properties in the chick limb.

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PubMed1990

Polarizing activity and retinoid synthesis in the floor plate of the neural tube.

In many developing organisms the establishment of axial polarity and the patterning of cells depend on local signals that derive from restricted regions of the embryo. In vertebrate embryos, the origins of tissue polarity have been examined extensively in the developing limb. The anteroposterior pattern of the chick limb seems to be controlled by a morphogen, possibly retinoic acid, that is enriched in a region of the limb known as the zone of polarizing activity (ZPA). Certain tissues other than the ZPA have also shown polarizing activity experimentally in the chick limb, raising the possibility that signalling molecules involved in pattern formation in different embryonic tissues are conserved. Here we provide evidence that a similar polarizing activity is also present in a restricted region of the developing central nervous system (CNS). We show that a specialized group of neural cells termed the floor plate, but not other regions of the CNS, mimics the ZPA in respecifying the digit pattern in the developing chick limb. In addition, using an in vitro biochemical assay, we show that the floor plate can synthesize retinoic acid and 3,4-didehydroretinol, the precursor of a second morphogenetically active retinoid, 3,4-didehydroretinoic acid. These results show that the floor plate is a local source of a ZPA-like polarizing signal, possibly a retinoid, which may regulate the pattern of cell differentiation in the developing CNS.

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PubMed1989

Molecular approaches to vertebrate limb morphogenesis.

It has long been proposed that concentration gradients of morphogens provide cues to specify cell fate in embryonic fields. Recent work in a variety of vertebrate systems give bona fide evidence that retinoic acid, the biologically active form of vitamin A, is a candidate for such a morphogen. In the developing chick wing, for example, locally applied retinoic acid triggers striking changes in the pattern along the anteroposterior axis. Instead of giving rise to a wing with the normal 234 digit pattern, wing buds treated with retinoic acid develop a 432234 mirror-image symmetrical digit pattern. For this review, we focus on three aspects of limb morphogenesis. (1) We summarize the experimental evidence supporting the notion that retinoic acid is a candidate morphogen. (2) Limb buds contain high levels of cellular retinoic-acid-binding protein (CRABP). Using order of magnitude calculations, we evaluate how the concentration of CRABP might affect the occupancy state of the retinoic acid receptor. (3) We discuss the spatio-temporal expression pattern of homeobox-containing genes in the developing limb and speculate about the possibility that retinoic acid influences the pattern of expression of homeobox genes.

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PubMed1988

Characterization of retinoid metabolism in the developing chick limb bud.

Retinoids (vitamin A derivatives) have been shown to have striking effects on developing and regenerating vertebrate limbs. In the developing chick limb, retinoic acid is a candidate morphogen that may coordinate the pattern of cellular differentiation along the anteroposterior limb axis. We describe a series of investigations of the metabolic pathway of retinoids in the chick limb bud system. To study retinoid metabolism in the bud, all-trans-[3H]retinol, all-trans-[3H]retinal and all-trans-[3H]retinoic acid were released into the posterior region of the limb anlage, the area that contains the zone of polarizing activity, a tissue possibly involved in limb pattern formation. We found that the locally applied [3H]retinol is primarily converted to [3H]retinal, [3H]retinoic acid and a yet unidentified metabolite. When [3H]retinal is locally applied, it is either oxidized to [3H]retinoic acid or reduced to [3H]retinol. In contrast, local delivery of retinoic acid to the bud yields neither retinal nor retinol nor the unknown metabolite. This flow of metabolites agrees with the biochemical pathway of retinoids that has previously been elucidated in a number of other animal systems. To find out whether metabolism takes place directly in the treated limb bud, we have compared the amount of [3H]retinoid present in each of the four limb anlagen following local treatment of the right wing bud. The data suggest that retinoid metabolism takes place mostly in the treated limb bud. This local metabolism could provide a simple mechanism to generate in a controlled fashion the biologically active all-trans-retinoic acid from its abundant biosynthetic precursor retinol. In addition, local metabolism supports the hypothesis that retinoids are local chemical mediators involved in pattern formation.

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PubMed1987

Characterization of concentration gradients of a morphogenetically active retinoid in the chick limb bud.

It has long been suggested that the generation of biological patterns depends in part on gradients of diffusible substances. In an attempt to bridge the gap between this largely theoretical concept and experimental embryology, we have examined the physiology of diffusion gradients in an actual embryonic field. In particular, we have generated in the chick wing bud concentration gradients of the morphogenetically active retinoid TTNPB, (E)-4-[2-(5,6,7,8-tetrahydro-5,5,8,8-tetramethyl-2-naphthalenyl)-1-prope nyl] benzoic acid, a synthetic vitamin A compound. Upon local application of TTNPB the normal 234 digit pattern is duplicated in a way that correlates with the geometry of the underlying TTNPB gradient; low doses of TTNPB lead to a shallow gradient and an additional digit 2, whereas higher doses result in a steep, far-reaching gradient and patterns with additional digits 3 and 4. The experimentally measured TTNPB distribution along the anteroposterior axis, can be modeled by a local source and a dispersed sink. This model correctly predicts the site of specification of digit 2, and provides an empirical estimate of the diffusion coefficient (D) of retinoids in embryonic limb tissue. The numerical value of approximately 10(-7) cm2s-1 for D suggests that retinoids are not freely diffusible in the limb rudiment, but interact with the previously identified cellular retinoic acid binding protein. In addition, D affords an estimate of the time required to establish a diffusion gradient as 3 to 4 h. This time span is in a range compatible with the time scale of pattern specification in developing vertebrate limbs. Our studies support the view that diffusion of morphogenetic substances is a plausible mechanism of pattern formation in secondary embryonic fields.

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PubMed1984

Crystallization of the gene 45 protein from the DNA replication fork of bacteriophage T4.

The gene 45 protein from bacteriophage T4 has been purified and is crystallized. This protein is part of the T4 DNA replication complex. The crystallized protein is active in complementation assays. X-ray diffraction analysis is in progress; data are measured for the native and several heavy atom derivatives. The crystals diffract to about 3.5-A resolution.

Crystallization↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Identification and spatial distribution of retinoids in the developing chick limb bud.

All-trans-retinoic acid (RA) induces striking digit pattern duplications when locally applied to the developing chick limb bud. Instead of the normal digit pattern (234) a mirror-symmetrical 432234 pattern can be specified. Hence, RA closely mimics posterior limb bud tissue (the zone of polarizing activity, ZPA) that causes very similar duplications when grafted to an anterior site of a host limb bud. This resemblance raises an intriguing possibility: that RA is related to the as yet unidentified inducer substance thought to be released by the ZPA. Here we report that chick limb buds contain endogenous RA and we show that RA, but not its biosynthetic precursor retinol, forms a concentration gradient across the limb anlage with a high-point in the posterior domain of the limb bud, the part that also contains the ZPA.

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