spacer gif spacer gif spacer gif spacer gif ARCHIVE ANNOUNCEMENT! spacer gif
QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced]


spacer gif
     Home     Help     Feedback     Subscriptions     Archive     Search     Table of Contents    

First published online 30 November 2006
doi: 10.1242/dev.02702

Development 134, 65-75 (2007)
Published by The Company of Biologists 2007
This Article
Right arrow Figures Only
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Supplementary Material
Right arrow All Versions of this Article:
dev.02702v1
134/1/65    most recent
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow reprints & permissions
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by García-Campmany, L.
Right arrow Articles by Martí, E.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by García-Campmany, L.
Right arrow Articles by Martí, E.

The TGFß intracellular effector Smad3 regulates neuronal differentiation and cell fate specification in the developing spinal cord

Lidia García-Campmany and Elisa Martí*

Instituto de Biología Molecular de Barcelona, CSIC, Parc Científic de Barcelona, C/Josep Samitier 1-5, Barcelona, Spain.

* Author for correspondence (e-mail: emgbmc{at}ibmb.csic.es)

Accepted 18 October 2006

Here we show that Smad3, a transforming growth factor ß (TGFß)/activin signaling effector, is expressed in discrete progenitor domains along the dorsoventral axis of the developing chick spinal cord. Restriction of Smad3 expression to the dP6-p2 and p3 domains together with exclusion from the motoneuron progenitor domain, are the result of the activity of key transcription factors responsible for patterning the neural tube. Smad3-mediated TGFß activity promotes cell-cycle exit and neurogenesis by inhibiting the expression of Id proteins, and activating the expression of neurogenic factors and the cyclin-dependent-kinase-inhibitor p27kip1. Furthermore, Smad3 activity induces differentiation of selected neuronal subtypes at the expense of other subtypes. Within the intermediate and ventral domains, Smad3 promotes differentiation of ventral interneurons at the expense of motoneuron generation. Consequently, the absence of Smad3 expression from the motoneuron progenitor domain during pattern formation of the neural tube is a prerequisite for the correct generation of spinal motoneurons.

Key words: Spinal cord, Pattern formation, Neurogenesis, Basic helix-loop-helix (bHLH) proteins, Motoneurons, Interneurons, Transforming growth factor ß (TGFß), Smad3, Sonic hedgehog, Chick




This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 ScienceHome page
K. D. Bromberg, A. Ma'ayan, S. R. Neves, and R. Iyengar
Design Logic of a Cannabinoid Receptor Signaling Network That Triggers Neurite Outgrowth
Science, May 16, 2008; 320(5878): 903 - 909.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 DevelopmentHome page
R. Alvarez-Medina, J. Cayuso, T. Okubo, S. Takada, and E. Marti
Wnt canonical pathway restricts graded Shh/Gli patterning activity through the regulation of Gli3 expression
Development, January 15, 2008; 135(2): 237 - 247.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


© The Company of Biologists Ltd 2007