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At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2002

Retinoic acid induces parietal endoderm but not primitive endoderm and visceral endoderm differentiation in F9 teratocarcinoma stem cells with a targeted deletion of the Rex-1 (Zfp-42) gene.

Cultured murine F9 teratocarcinoma stem cells resemble pluripotent stem cells of the inner cell mass of the mouse blastocyst and, depending upon their treatment, can be induced to differentiate along the primitive endoderm, the parietal endoderm (PE), or the visceral endoderm (VE) pathway. The Rex-1 gene encodes a zinc finger family transcription factor which is expressed at high levels in undifferentiated F9 stem cells, embryonic stem cells, and in other types of stem cells. To examine whether the Rex-1 protein plays a role in F9 cell differentiation, homologous recombination was employed to generate F9 cell lines which lack both alleles of Rex-1. F9 wild type cells in monolayer culture require both retinoic acid and cyclic AMP analogs to differentiate into PE, whereas the F9 Rex-1(-/-) cells differentiate into PE, as assessed by several molecular markers, including thrombomodulin and laminin B1, in the presence of RA alone. The F9 Rex-1(-/-) cells do not completely differentiate into VE after RA treatment in aggregate culture; they do not express alpha-fetoprotein, a definitive marker of VE differentiation. These results indicate that the Rex-1 transcription factor regulates the differentiation of F9 stem cells along several distinct cell lineages found in the early embryo.

Animals↗

PubMed2005

An endoderm-specific GATA factor gene, dGATAe, is required for the terminal differentiation of the Drosophila endoderm.

GATA factors play an essential role in endodermal specification in both protostomes and deuterostomes. In Drosophila, the GATA factor gene serpent (srp) is critical for differentiation of the endoderm. However, the expression of srp disappears around stage 11, which is much earlier than overt differentiation occurs in the midgut, an entirely endodermal organ. We have identified another endoderm-specific Drosophila GATA factor gene, dGATAe. Expression of dGATAe is first detected at stage 8 in the endoderm, and its expression continues in the endodermal midgut throughout the life cycle. srp is required for expression of dGATAe, and misexpression of srp resulted in ectopic dGATAe expression. Embryos that either lacked dGATAe or were injected with double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) corresponding to dGATAe failed to express marker genes that are characteristic of differentiated midgut. Conversely, overexpression of dGATAe induced ectopic expression of endodermal markers even in the absence of srp activity. Transfection of the dGATAe cDNA also induced endodermal markers in Drosophila S2 cells. These studies provide an outline of the genetic pathway that establishes the endoderm in Drosophila. This pathway is triggered by sequential signaling through the maternal torso gene, a terminal gap gene, huckebein (hkb), and finally, two GATA factor genes, srp and dGATAe.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

PubMed1985

A teratocarcinoma-derived endoderm stem cell line (1H5) that can differentiate into extra-embryonic endoderm cell types.

We investigated the ability of the teratocarcinoma-derived, epithelial-type cell line 1H5 to differentiate into either of the two pathways to primary endoderm, and tested the hypothesis that 1H5 represents a state similar to primitive endoderm in the late 4th-day blastocyst. Like other endodermal cell types, 1H5 cells mixed with embryonal-carcinoma cells sort out into "embryoid bodies" or structures that resemble 4th-day mouse embryos. The epithelial line conforms morphologically and biochemically to the few known characteristics typical of primitive endoderm. The present study demonstrates that the formation in vitro of overt visceral endoderm is readily achieved. The spontaneous arrangement of the cells into a cystic form is followed by the appearance of several markers of visceral endoderm, most notably alphafetoprotein, which is detected when 1H5 cells are cultured either in the presence of retinoic acid or when the cells interact with embryonal-carcinoma cells in a specific spatial arrangement after sorting out. However, some less specific properties of visceral endoderm are not expressed. Although 1H5 differentiates histologically into parietal-like endoderm in the tumor form, parietal cells cannot yet be identified with certainty in vitro because of the paucity of parietal-specific markers. The 1H5 cell line could provide a useful system for studying the characteristics and mechanisms underlying visceral-endoderm differentiation in vitro, since it has the distinct advantage that homogeneous cultures are produced, in contrast to other teratocarcinoma cell lines such as F9 which differentiate into a mixture of cell types.

Animals↗

PubMed2003

The mouse secreted frizzled-related protein 5 gene is expressed in the anterior visceral endoderm and foregut endoderm during early post-implantation development.

The anterior visceral endoderm (AVE) plays an important role in anterior-posterior axis formation in the mouse. The AVE functions in part by expressing secreted factors that antagonize growth factor signaling in the proximal epiblast. Here we report that the Secreted frizzled-related protein 5 (Sfrp5) gene, which encodes a secreted factor that can antagonize Wnt signaling, is expressed in the AVE and foregut endoderm during early mouse development. At embryonic day (E) 5.5, Sfrp5 is expressed in the visceral endoderm at the distal tip region of the embryo and at E6.5 in the AVE opposite the primitive streak. In Lim1 embryos, which lack anterior neural tissue and sometimes form a secondary body axis, Sfrp5-expressing cells fail to move towards the anterior and remain at the distal tip of E6.5 embryos. When compared with Dkk1, which encodes another secreted Wnt antagonist molecule present in the visceral endoderm, Sfrp5 and Dkk1 expression overlap but Sfrp5 is expressed more broadly in the AVE. Between E7.5 and 8, Sfrp5 is expressed in the foregut endoderm underlying the cardiac mesoderm. At E8.5, Sfrp5 is expressed in the ventral foregut endoderm that gives rise to the liver. Additional domains of Sfrp5 expression occur in the dorsal neural tube and in the forebrain anterior to the optic placode. These findings identify a gene encoding a secreted Wnt antagonist that is expressed in the extraembryonic visceral endoderm and anterior definitive endoderm during axis formation and organogenesis in the mouse.

Adaptor Proteins, Signal Transducing↗

PubMed1992

Ultrastructural analysis of differentiation of rat endoderm in vitro. Adipose vascular-stromal cells induce endoderm differentiation, which in turn induces differentiation of the vascular-stromal cells into chondrocytes.

Isolated definitive endoderm from 9-day-old rat embryos was cultivated up to 24 days in plastic and glass petri dishes and on developing vascular-stromal cells (mesenchymal cells) from epididymal white and interscapular brown adipose tissue of 4-week-old male rats. Explants were analyzed histologically and ultrastructurally. Endoderm attached to the bottom of the glass or petri dishes degenerated under one week of cultivation. Endoderm free floating in the culture medium developed into unilaminar vesicles whose flat epithelium did not differentiate. However, endoderm inoculated on developing mesenchymal cells differentiated into glandular explants or into ciliated pseudostratified columnar respiratory epithelium. The glandular explants were made up of at least four different kinds of cells whose cytoplasm showed predominantly: a) polyribosomes, b) lysosomes, c) mitochondria or d) cytoskeletal filaments. Endodermal cells differentiated only if, during cultivation, they were in contact with or in close proximity to developing mesenchymal cells. Endoderm differentiating into the respiratory epithelium in turn directed differentiation of the underlying vascular-stromal cells into lamina propria cells and chondrocytes. Cultivated vascular-stromal cells in the upper layers became thicker, ellipsoid in shape and with enlarged intercellular space. They appeared to be lamina propria cells and, together with the respiratory epithelium, built folds of respiratory mucosa. The vascular-stromal cells in the layers close to the bottom developed into chondrocytes; i.e., the cells became oval and agglomerated in nest like structures with a defined extracellular matrix. Their cytoplasm contained abundant cisternae of rough endoplasmic reticulum and numerous vacuoles with PAS positive substance. These observations showed that even developing vascular-stromal cells from adipose tissue from postlactating rats can trigger the process of definitive endoderm differentiation. Once triggered, differentiating endoderm influenced differentiation of the vascular-stromal cells into the cells and tissues of a wall of the respiratory tract.

Adipose Tissue↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Embryonal carcinoma cells differentiate into parietal endoderm via an intermediate stage corresponding to primitive endoderm.

F9 embryonal carcinoma (EC) cells were used as a model system to study endoderm formation during mammalian embryogenesis. F9 cells treated with retinoic acid (RA) or RA plus dibutyryl cyclic AMP (cAMP) were examined for the expression of stage-specific embryonic antigen-3 (SSEA-3), a cell surface marker of primitive and visceral endoderm. SSEA-3 was not detected by indirect immunofluorescence on the surface of undifferentiated stem cells; however, a subset of SSEA-3-positive cells appeared with time in culture, amounting to 20% of cells 10 days after plating. When cultured in the presence of RA, the percentage of SSEA-3-positive cells increased to 70% of cells 10 days after plating. In contrast, treatment of cells with RA plus cAMP yielded differentiated cells that were SSEA-3-negative. These SSEA-3-negative cells exhibited ultrastructural features of parietal yolk sac endoderm. In contrast, SSEA-3-positive cells appearing in cultures treated with RA alone exhibited ultrastructural features of primitive endoderm on day 3, switching to ultrastructural features of parietal endoderm on day 10. Cells with hybrid features, resembling both visceral and parietal yolk sac, were also seen. We suggest that differentiation of F9 EC cells into parietal yolk sac-like cells can occur along two distinct pathways: 1) direct under the combined influence of RA and cAMP; and 2) indirect, under the influence of RA alone, in which cells first differentiate into primitive endoderm. Parietal yolk sac-like cells induced through the latter pathway continue to express SSEA-3, a cell surface marker of primitive endoderm that is not normally found on parietal endodermal cells in vivo.

Antibodies, Monoclonal↗

PubMed2006

Retinoic acid is required for endodermal pouch morphogenesis and not for pharyngeal endoderm specification.

Because tissues from all three germ layers contribute to the pharyngeal arches, it is not surprising that all major signaling pathways are involved in their development. We focus on the role of retinoic acid (RA) signaling because it has been recognized for quite some time that alterations in this pathway lead to craniofacial malformations. Several studies exist that describe phenotypes observed upon RA perturbations in pharyngeal arch development; however, these studies did not address whether RA plays multiple roles at distinct time points during development. Here, we report the resulting phenotypes in the hindbrain, the neural crest-derived tissues, and the pharyngeal endoderm when RA synthesis is disrupted during zebrafish gastrulation and pharyngeal arch morphogenesis. Our results demonstrate that RA is required for the post-gastrulation morphogenesis and segmentation of endodermal pouches, and that loss of RA does not affect the length of the pharyngeal ectoderm or medial endoderm along the anterior-posterior axis. We also provide evidence that RA is not required for the specification of pharyngeal pouch endoderm and that the pharyngeal endoderm consists of at least two different cell populations, of which the pouch endoderm is sensitive to RA and the more medial pharyngeal endoderm is not. These results demonstrate that the developmental processes underlying pharyngeal arch defects differ depending on when RA signaling is disturbed during development.

Animals↗

PubMed1982

Coordinate expression of parietal endodermal functions in hybrids of embryonal carcinoma and endodermal cells.

A derivative, FOT5, of the F9 murine embryonal carcinoma cell line which is resistant to ouabain and thioguanine was fused with a near diploid parietal endodermal cell line, PFHR9, Hybrid clones (ENEC1 to ENEC5) were isolated in HAT Medium containing ouabain at a frequency of approximately 2 x 10(-4). The DNA contents and chromosome number of the ENEC hybrids were approximately the sum of those of the parents. Five hybrid cell lines examined in detail expressed the following parietal endodermal functions: plasminogen activator activity, basement membrane proteins, and endodermal cytoskeletal proteins. Embryonal carcinoma characteristic functions (tumorigenicity, a stage specific embryonic antigen, and high alkaline phosphatase activity) were extinguished in the hybrids. No hybrid clones with embryonal carcinoma morphology were observed among 1,358 hybrid clones examined. Hybrids, propagated for over 100 generations, continued to express endodermal functions and not embryonal carcinoma functions. The coordinate expression of endodermal functions and the extinction of embryonal carcinoma functions in the ENEC hybrids suggest that the parietal endodermal cells contain diffusible activities which extinguish embryonal carcinoma functions and possibly cause the embryonal carcinoma genome to express parietal endodermal characteristics.

Alkaline Phosphatase↗

PubMed1997

Hydra regeneration from recombined ectodermal and endodermal tissue. II. Differential stability in the ectodermal and endodermal epithelial organization.

Hydra tissue consists of the ectodermal and the endodermal layers. When the two layers were separated by procaine treatment and then recombined, the ectodermal epithelial cells spread as a single cell layer over the endoderm as in epiboly in vertebrate embryogenesis, and the resultant spherical structure subsequently regenerated into a complete hydra. In this study, light and electron microscopy were used to examine the structural changes which took place in the cells and tissue during this epibolic ectodermal spreading process. Within a few hours after tissue recombination, the endoderm underwent dramatic changes; it lost its epithelial sheet organization, and turned into a mass of irregularly shaped cells without the apical-basal cell polarity initially present. In contrast, the ectoderm maintained its basic epithelial sheet organization as it spread over the endoderm. Later, the endodermal epithelial cells reorganized themselves into a single-layered epithelial sheet underneath the spreading ectodermal layer. The resultant spherical structure consisted of a single layer of ectodermal epithelial cells outside, a single layer of endodermal epithelial cells inside, and an empty cavity in the center as in normal hydra tissue. This structure regenerated into hydra in the following days. These and other observations demonstrate that the two-layered epithelial sheet organization is highly dynamic, and that its stability is maintained by strong interactions between the two layers in normal hydra. It is suggested that this dynamic nature of the hydra tissue, particularly the high plasticity of the endodermal epithelial sheet organization, may be an important element for the high regenerative capacity of this organism.

Animals↗

PubMed1987

Reversible interconversion between primitive endoderm- and parietal endoderm-like F9 cells demonstrated by mRNAs expression.

The differentiation of retinoic acid-treated F9 cells (primitive endoderm-like F9 cells) into parietal endoderm-like F9 cells induced by dibutyryl cAMP was studied as a culture model of the morphogenesis of early mouse embryo. For this purpose, 6 cDNA clones coding for mRNAs specifically expressed in parietal endoderm-like F9 cells were selected. Northern hybridization of RNA extracted from variously treated F9 cells to nick-translated plasmid DNA of these clones demonstrated the reversible expression of many mRNAs depending on the presence of dibutyryl cAMP in the culture medium. This result suggested that the differentiated state of parietal endoderm, which is formed from primitive endoderm at a position adjacent to the trophectoderm in mouse embryo, can be reversed if the local signal is removed. One of the selected clones, pLAM, hybridized to an mRNA of 6.3 kb and selected mRNA producing a laminin B subunit in an in vitro translation system. This clone has an inserted sequence of 3.1 kb. Among the restriction sites in this sequence, six were consistent with those in a 1.7 kb inserted sequence of pPE 49 and pPE 386, which were isolated by Barlow et al. as laminin B1 clones. An XbaI site found in both pPE 49 and pPE 386 was, however, not found at the corresponding position of pLAM. Dot hybridization of RNA with pLAM showed that expression of laminin B in F9 cells is stimulated more than 100-fold during differentiation of F9 stem cells into parietal endoderm-like F9 cells.

Animals↗

PubMed1984

Congenital endodermal heterotopia of the atrioventricular node: evidence for the endodermal origin of so-called mesotheliomas of the atrioventricular node.

A case of so-called mesothelioma of the atrioventricular node is presented. Controversy exists as to whether this lesion is of mesodermal or endodermal origin. The light and electron microscopic morphologic characteristics in this case were identical to those reported previously. The glandular component produced mucin that resisted digestion with both hyaluronidase and diastase; this staining pattern is characteristic of endodermal rather than of mesodermal tissue. Immunohistochemical methods demonstrated abundant carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) in the cytoplasm of the cells composing the lesion. The presence of CEA strongly argues for an endodermal origin, since this antigen characterizes tissue derived from endoderm and is generally absent from mesoderm. The lesion probably represents endodermal foregut tissue that is displaced during embryogenesis. As such, it is not a true neoplasm. It is proposed that this lesion be designated "congenital endodermal heterotopia of the atrioventricular node."

Atrioventricular Node↗

PubMed1983

Comparative morphology of endodermal sinus tumor (Teilum) to human yolk sac and a proposal of endodermal cell tumor.

Histological criteria of 8 pure and typical endodermal sinus tumor (EST) were compared with the morphological features of 8 human yolk sacs from 5 to 13 weeks of pregnancy. No common features were found with regard to endodermal sinus structure (ESS) and clear-cell entoblastic pattern (CCEP), but magma reticulare (MR) and eosinophilic hyaline globules (EHG) were detected as common findings. As to the morphology and synthesis of alpha-fetoprotein (AFP), some tumor cells with eosinophilic-granular cytoplasm lining ESS had similarity to the endodermal cell of human yolk sac. Histological features of EST mimicked the morphological structure of endodermal sinus in rodent yolk sac. Pathological study on an ovarian and a gastric adenocarcinoma with high level of AFP concentration demonstrated two cell patterns with eosinophilic-granular and clear cytoplasm showing analogousness to the endodermal cell of human yolk sac. It was suggested that these tumors showed a selective differentiation to the endodermal cell of human yolk sac and might be called ECT. Further study clarified that ovarian embryonal carcinoma or teratocarcinoma with higher AFP concentration had vitelline component of EST or ECT or both.

Adenocarcinoma↗

PubMed1996

Endoderm differentiation in vitro identifies a transitional period for endoderm ontogeny in the sea urchin embryo.

The vegetal plate of the sea urchin embryo is specified during early cleavage divisions of the embryo as shown by the classical experiments of Horstadius (reviewed in "Experimental Embryology of Echinoderms," 1973, Clarendon, Oxford). Not until gastrulation, though, do the cells within this territory differentiate into their characteristic cell types. Vegetal plate descendents comprise the coelomic epithelium, circumesophageal muscle, basal cells, pigment cells, and endodermal epithelium. We report here that cells of the endodermal lineage acquire the ability to differentiate autonomously several hours prior to gastrulation, between the late blastula and early mesenchyme blastula stages. Cells dissociated from whole embryos after the late blastula stage have the ability to differentiate in vitro, independent of cell contacts and of the embryonic environment. In contrast, preendoderm cells removed from the embryo prior to the late blastula stage show no ability to differentiate when cultured in vitro even though cells of other lineages, e.g., ectoderm and skeletogenic mesenchyme, show morphological and molecular differentiation in these same cultures. We have used the expression of the endoderm-specific gene products Endo 1 and LvN1.2, detected by RNase protection assays and by in situ immunolabeling, to quantify endoderm differentiation independent of embryonic or cellular morphology. These studies define a transitional period in the ontogeny of the endoderm, from cells reliant on interactions to promote fate specification and organization of territories to later events involved in morphogenesis that result from cell-type-specific gene expression.

Animals↗

PubMed1994

Identification of a major poly-N-acetyllactosamine-containing cell-surface glycoprotein of mouse teratocarcinoma cells. Appearance on cells induced to primitive endoderm but not parietal endoderm differentiation.

Mouse teratocarcinoma F9 cells were induced to primitive endoderm differentiation with retinoic acid, and poly-N-acetyllactosamine-containing surface glycoproteins were identified by radiolabelling endo-beta-galactosidase-cleavable glycans with galactosyltransferase and radiolabelled UDP-galactose. One major radiolabelled band with an apparent size of 250-500 kDa was identified which differed from the known poly-N-acetyllactosamine-containing glycoproteins laminin, fibronectin, lysosome-associated membrane protein (LAMP)-1 and LAMP-2. This acidic glycoprotein, resistant to glycosaminoglycan-degrading enzymes and proteases, was purified by extraction and phase partition with Triton X-114, octyl Sepharose and Helix pomatia lectin chromatography. The purified glycoprotein could be digested by endo-beta-galactosidase and glycopeptide N-glycosidase F to an apparent size of 160-240 kDa. During retinoic-acid-induced differentiation into primitive endoderm cells, the glycoprotein showed a several-fold increase and a broadening to an apparent size of 200- > 700 kDa. The glycoprotein was no longer detected in retinoic-acid and dibutyryl-cAMP-treated cells which had undergone further differentiation to parietal endoderm cells, nor in the permanently differentiated parietal endoderm line F9-AC. The results suggest that the glycoprotein is a major carrier of poly-N-acetyllactosamine chains on differentiating teratocarcinoma F9 cells, and that its expression as revealed by the poly-N-acetyllactosamine labelling method is regulated by the stage of cellular differentiation.

Animals↗

PubMed1980

Immunohistochemical demonstration of a hitherto undescribed localization of hemoglobin A and F in endodermal cells of normal human yolk sac and endodermal sinus tumor.

In this study of 4 human yolk sacs, the presence of hemoglobin A and F (HbA and HbF) is demonstrated for the first time in epithelial cells (type 1) and erythroid-like cells (type 2) in the endodermal layer by immunoperoxidase technique. Our findings strongly support the hypothesis previously proposed that the red blood cells formed in the yolk sac are of endodermal origin. Tumor with yolk sac differentiation (8 endodermal sinus tumors and 1 embryonal carcinoma with vitelline areas) similarly showed HbA and HbF localisation in endodermal cells. None of 59 germ cell tumors of other types contained these hemoglobins in the neoplastic cells.

Endoderm↗

PubMed1982

Intracellular localization of basement membrane precursors in the endodermal cells of the rat parietal yolk sac. I. Ultrastructure and phosphatase activity of endodermal cells.

The parietal layer of the rat yolk sac includes a 5 microliter thick sheet known as Reichert's membrane that exhibits properties of basement membranes. Its inner side is lined by a single layer of loosely distributed cells referred to as endodermal cells. Both Reichert's membrane and endodermal cells were examined at 13-14 days' gestation with emphasis on the ultrastructure of the Golgi apparatus, the identification of its component parts by specific phosphatase activities, and its possible role in the cells' secretory process. Reichert's membrane is composed of a series of stacked layers similar to basal laminae and composed of a network of fibrils with a diameter of 2-8 nm along which dots are located at irregular intervals. The endodermal cells contain the usual organelles, including interconnected rough endoplasmic reticulum (rER) cisternae and a prominent Golgi apparatus. With the help of phosphatase reactions, the stacks of Golgi saccules were divided into a) "phosphatase-free" saccules, the first ones on the cis or forming side, b) one or two "intermediate" saccules in the middle of the stacks, containing nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphatase activity, c) one or two "last" saccules rich in thiamine pyrophosphatase activity on the trans or mature side, and d) continuing beyond the trans side, the GERL element displaying acid phosphatase activity. The latter is associated with profiles equally rich in acid phosphatase and tentatively considered to be prosecretory granules. Finally, the ectoplasm adjacent to Reichert's membrane displays large, acid phosphatase-containing structures tentatively considered to be secretory granules. Thus, the extensive rER network, the well-compartmentalized Golgi apparatus, and the presence of structures which may be prosecretory and secretory granules indicate that the endodermal cells are well-equipped for the secretion of the components of Reichert's membrane.

Animals↗

PubMed1995

Visceral endoderm-1 (VE-1): an antigen marker that distinguishes anterior from posterior embryonic visceral endoderm in the early post-implantation mouse embryo.

We describe here an antigen marker, designated VE-1, that is detected early in gastrulation (approximately E6.5 through approximately E7.25) in the anterior visceral endoderm overlying the embryonic ectoderm opposite the primitive streak. The antibody-positive domain extends from the embryonic-extraembryonic junction to the distal tip of the embryo, and laterally around approximately one-third of the circumference of the egg cylinder. Analysis of embryos at earlier stages indicates that VE-1 is first expressed shortly after implantation, at approximately E5.0, in the visceral endoderm on one side of the embryo and thus is the earliest molecular marker of A-P asymmetry in the post-implantation mouse embryo described to date. Although VE-1 was detected with a polyclonal antiserum raised against a 24 amino acid polypeptide sequence of FGF2, we provide evidence that the VE-1 antigen is not FGF2. The data reported here are the first to provide molecular evidence that A-P polarity in the mouse embryo is established by E5.0 and that the visceral endoderm has A-P polarity.

Animals↗

PubMed2005

Differential expression of Sonic hedgehog along the anterior-posterior axis regulates patterning of pharyngeal pouch endoderm and pharyngeal endoderm-derived organs.

Previous studies have implicated Sonic hedgehog (Shh) as an important regulator of pharyngeal region development. Here we show that Shh is differentially expressed within the pharyngeal endoderm along the anterior-posterior axis. In Shh-/- mutants, the pharyngeal pouches and arches formed by E9.5 and marker expression showed that initial patterning was normal. However, by E10.5-E11.0, the first arch had atrophied and the first pouch was missing. Although small, the second, third, and fourth arches and pouches were present. The expression patterns of Fgf8, Pax1, and Bmp4 suggested that pouch identity was abnormal at E10.5 and that Shh is a negative regulator of these genes in the pouches. Despite the loss of pouch identity and an increase in mesenchymal cell death, arch identity markers were expressed normally. Our data show that a Shh-dependent patterning mechanism is required to maintain pouch patterning, independent or downstream of arch identity. Changes in the distribution of Bmp4 and Gcm2 in the third pouch endoderm and subsequent organ phenotypes in Shh-/- mutants suggested that exclusion of Shh from the third pouch is required for dorsal-ventral patterning and for parathyroid specification and organogenesis. Furthermore, this function for Shh may be opposed by Bmp4. Our data suggest that, as in the posterior gut endoderm, exclusion of Shh expression from developing primordia is required for the proper development of pharyngeal-derived organs.

Animals↗